The Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) was created by the California Legislature in 1997 to administer the base $1 auto toll on the San Francisco Bay Area's seven state-owned toll bridges. On Jan. 1, 1998, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) — the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county region — began operations as BATA. In August 2005, the California Legislature expanded BATA’s responsibilities to include administration of all toll revenue and joint oversight of the toll bridge construction program with Caltrans and the California Transportation Commission.