The Chicago "L" is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs in the U.S. state of Illinois. Operated by the Chicago Transit Authority , it is the fourth-largest rapid transit system in the United States in terms of total route length, at 102.8 miles long as of 2014, [note 1] and the third-busiest rapid transit system in the United States, after the New York City Subway and Washington Metro. In 2016, the "L" had 1,492 rail cars, eight different routes, and 145 train stations. In 2022, the system had 103,524,900 rides, or about 367,000 per weekday in the second quarter of 2023.