Chicago Transit Authority

Chicago Transit Authority

CTA services: "L" and bus
Parent	Regional Transportation Authority
Founded	October 1, 1947; 77 years ago (October 1, 1947)
Headquarters	567 West Lake Street, West Loop, Chicago, Illinois
Locale	Chicago, Illinois & Suburbs
Service type	Bus and Rapid Transit
Routes	Bus: 140, Rail: 8
Fleet	Bus: 1,879, Rail: 1,190
Daily ridership	993,700 (total, 2023)[1] 577,600 (bus, 2023) 416,200 (rail, 2023)
Annual ridership	279,146,200 (total, 2023)[2] 161,699,200 (bus, 2023) 117,447,000 (rail, 2023)
Fuel type	Diesel, Diesel-electric hybrid, Electric-Drive Motor/Battery
Chief executive	Dorval R. Carter, Jr.[3]
Website	www.transitchicago.com

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago "L" and CTA bus service. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 279,146,200, or about 993,700 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024.

The CTA is an Illinois independent governmental agency^[4] that started operations on October 1, 1947, upon the purchase and combination of the transportation assets of the Chicago Rapid Transit Company and the Chicago Surface Lines streetcar system. In 1952, CTA purchased the assets of the Chicago Motor Coach Company, which was under the control of Yellow Cab Company founder John D. Hertz, resulting in a fully unified system. Today, the CTA is one of the three service boards financially supported by the Regional Transportation Authority and CTA service connects with the commuter rail Metra, and suburban bus and regional paratransit service, Pace.