Ontario Bus License Plates
The following is a list of bus license plates in Ontario, beginning with the 1980 permanent series and progressing to currently issued plates.
History
The first Ontario bus series license plates were issued in 1973 under the quarterly system. In the early 1970's, the Province of Ontario was using a quarterly system for license plates, where a set of plates were issued and valid for a quarter of the year (the next three months) and then replaced. Thus, the license plate number on a vehicle wasn't fixed and changed over time (some pre-1980 bus plate numbers shown in rosters may not have lasted long on a vehicle). Prior to the 1973 introduction of bus plates, buses would use standard commercial vehicle license plates that were also under the quarterly system (before 1963, commercial plates had been issued yearly).
Starting in 1980 for buses and commercial vehicles, Ontario switched to a permanent plate system with yearly sticker validation, thus a plate (and specific plate number) would stick with a vehicle on a long term basis (as long as the owner owned the vehicle, or the plate wasn't switched or replaced). Plates issued "belong" to the owner of the vehicle, and can be reused or transferred by the owner onto a different vehicle if desired. This system had already been in use since 1973 for passenger vehicles in Ontario.
Bus Plate Numbering
1980+ System
The standard Ontario bus series of permanent license plates uses two letters and four numbers, always starting with a "B". The lettering is black, on a white plate. The 1980 series began at BA1 000 and proceeded until BN9 999. Upon reaching that point in 2009, the original series ended after BN ("BP" was already in use by Pro-rated bus plates). The character and number sequence was then switched, and the new series began with the letter code "BF" at 100 0BF.
Certain letters are not used and are skipped over to avoid confusion with similar looking numbers (letters "G" "I" and "O" are skipped because they are too similar to numbers "6", "1" and "0" that are in use).
In 1994, the font dies were changed on Ontario license plates to a narrower style, and the plate style changed from stamped and painted to stamped with a reflectorized coating (this happened around the BF-BH bus plate series).
School bus plates for school vehicles use a similar two letter four number pattern, but start with "S". Some school buses may use regular B-series bus plates instead.
Pro-rated bus plates intended for long-distance and inter-provincial use start with "BP".
At one time, there was also a smaller, separate Ontario Public Vehicle plate affixed to the rear (sometimes front) of some buses with up to a 5- digit number. This plate system fell out of use in the early-mid 1990's (although some older vehicles retained their plate until eventual removal or retirement).
Pre-1980 System
Some B-series plates shown in some rosters that don't follow the conventional 1980 system may have been issued under the pre-1980 system, such as "BU" and "BV" series license plates. Photos may also show some pre-1980 plates using different colour patterns, such as white lettering on a blue plate. Due to their limited timespan and frequent renewal, pre-1980 plates are more difficult to track and specific pre-1980 plate information may not be present or known for many rosters. Starting in 1980, many fleets were mass replated with the new permanent bus license plates as the old system fell out of use or as quarterly plates came up for renewal.
Note: 2009 series bus plate listings below are read as the number being the first digit and not the one closest to the letters, eg "7BL" plates are "7xx xBL", "8BL" are "8xx xBL", etc.
Ontario Bus License Plates
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