The origins of the organization can be traced back to the Syndicat des Transports Parisiens (STP), which was created by the French Government in 1959 to coordinate the various operations in the Paris region.

The STP was reorganized into the Syndicat des transports d'Île-de-France (Stif) in 2000, giving the agency the ability to enter into competitive contracts with operators and more tightly control its expenses.

[2] During the 2000s, in response to hundreds of incidents involving trackside intrusions being recorded, STIF launched a program to retrofit platform screen doors at many of its existing stations in order to minimize such occurrences and enhance safety.

[8] One year later, an consortium comprising Alstom and Bombardier Transportation were selected to supply 255 X’Trapolis Cityduplex double-deck electric multiple units to replace aging rolling stock on lines D and E of the Île-de-France network under a €3.75 billion arrangement.

[9] In June 2015, a contract valued at €20 million was awarded to Alstom Transport to develop and install an automatic train operation (ATO) system on RER A of the Réseau Express Régional network servicing Paris.

[10] During February 2017, it was announced that STIF and the public transportation company Keolis had signed contracts valued at €750 million to partner on improving the bus network serving Greater Paris.