Pursuant to federal law, The RTC was designated as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) in 1979 by the Governor of Nevada. An MPO is a transportation policymaking and planning body comprised of representatives of local government and transportation authorities, and is a federal requirement in U.S. Census-defined urbanized areas of 50,000 or more. This vital and important role allows our region to access federal funding for transportation improvements in the community. RTC works with state, regional, and local government agencies to anticipate transportation needs and plan for the future of the Truckee Meadows. As both the transit service provider and MPO for the region, RTC meets the transit board representation requirements of 23 USC 134.

The Planning Department is responsible for development of the federally-required long-range Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), Regional Transportation Improvement Program (RTIP) – short-term projects to implement the RTP, Unified Planning Work Program (UPWP) – tasks to accomplish planning activities, and the Public Participation Plan (PPP). Planning also conducts a variety of area and corridor studies, transportation safety analysis, air quality analysis and development review services in addition to other tasks.

Find out more about the Metropolitan Planning Division