Service Bus

These plates are used on vehicles which are used for private transportation to carry employees of a company or other persons without charge. This does not include vehicles which qualify for Vanpool or School Bus registrations. However, until "School Bus" became a separate type, school buses carried Serv. Bus plates. Service Bus plates still appear on vans and occasionally on motorcoaches as well. Initially the vehicle had to carry 8 or more persons to qualify, in 1999 it was changed to 10 or more. This type started sometime in the 1940s, with a "SERVICE BUS" caption. With the 1948 plates, the caption was shortened to a vertical "SBUS". Around 1957, with the new 6x12 plates, the caption was expanded to "Serv. Bus".  With the introduction of the light blue graphic plates during the 2000 reissue, the legend finally was completely spelled out again- "Service Bus". However, the small text and lowercase lettering make it very difficult to read from a distance. Click the photo to see this type in use.   Reference: Chapter 246 Sec. 14-49-5(a); Sec. 14-1 (78)

1954/55 Reflective grey scotchlite	1956
1957	1966 With the new plates in 1958, a white on blue color scheme was used.
1967	1972 In 1967, the colors were reversed.
1974	1977 In 1973, the expiration month changed from July to August. It's purely a coincidence that I ended up with these two plates with such similar numbers.
1980	1982 Narrower dies for the numbers were used starting in the late 1970s
1987	1991
1992 The map base came out in 1987.	1994
1997	2000
2001

These plates are used on state-owned buses which do not charge a fee for transportation. These plates are typically used on buses belonging to the State Vocational schools, the State University system, and prisoner transport buses. This type started sometime in the 1970s. Click the photo to see this type in use.

Circa 1970s, revalidated to 1989