State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP)
STIP is a five-year investment plan for state transportation money and updated every two years.
The most recent STIP was adopted in 2024 and development of the 2026 STIP began in spring 2025.
STIP projects are funded in large part by the state excise tax on gasoline. Any capital project — from a new roadway or new bike path to a highway expansion or rail line extension — may be included in the STIP to receive state funding.
RTIP + ITIP = STIP
Regional spending plans developed by MTC for the Bay Area and by other agencies elsewhere in California account for 75% of the STIP. These are known as Regional Transportation Improvement Programs (RTIPs).
The remaining 25% of the STIP is a statewide spending plan known as the Interregional Transportation Improvement Program (ITIP). The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) develops the ITIP to fund projects that connect metro areas or cross regional boundaries.
Together, the ITIP and the various RTIPs make up the STIP.
2026 RTIP
MTC is currently developing the 2026 RTIP in partnership with the Bay Area county transportation agencies and Caltrans.
The California Transportation Commission (CTC) adopted the 2026 STIP Guidelines and Fund Estimate at its August 14, 2025 meeting. This guides the programming of STIP funds. MTC adopted the 2026 RTIP Policies and Procedures on September 24, 2025. The 2026 RTIP provides $95 million in new programming capacity for fiscal years 2026-27 through 2030-31. MTC adopted the 2026 RTIP at the December 17, 2025 Commission meeting. The CTC will hold two hearings for the 2026 STIP (of which the 2026 RTIP is a part) in early 2026, and consider adoption of the 2026 STIP on March 19, 2026.
Staff Contact
Karl Anderson
Phone: 415-778-6645
Email: kanderson@bayareametro.gov
The following documents and links provide further information on the 2026 RTIP:
- Approved 2026 RTIP Policies and Procedures, September 24, 2025 (MTC Resolution No. 4728)
- Resolution of Local Support Template
- New & Existing Projects – Electronic Project Programming Request (ePPR) Form
Every California county receives a designated amount of STIP funding known as a county share.
MTC receives STIP investment proposals from the county transportation agency in each of the nine Bay Area counties, and reviews them for consistency with the goals of Plan Bay Area 2050, the region's long-range plan for transportation investment and land-use priorities through the year 2050.
If all the county proposals are approved, MTC compiles them into a single Bay Area RTIP.
Once MTC assembles the Bay Area RTIP, it then forwards the proposal to the California Transportation Commission (CTC) for review.
The CTC must either accept the RTIP in its entirety or send it back to MTC for revision. The CTC similarly reviews the ITIP proposal submitted by Caltrans.