- One word to describe yourself: Motivated
- Alma Mater: Cooper Union and Harvard Business School
- Favorite book: The Power Broker
- Favorite TV show: New York Yankees baseball games
- Favorite movie: Shawshank Redemption
- Favorite hobby(s): I am a volunteer emergency medical technician
- Favorite station or stop that you have ever visited or frequent (and why): All deference to New Jersey, there is a magnificence and aura around Grand Central Terminal.
- Favorite route you have ever ridden or frequent (and why): No route per se, but it is amazing standing on the platform at either Secaucus Junction, Harlem-125th Street or Woodside from 8:15-8:30 am and see the multitude of trains entering Manhattan in rapid succession.
Jeff Bernstein has spent nearly 15 years in the industry driving technological innovation and financial sustainability while maintaining safe and effective operations at two of the country’s largest transit agencies.
As deputy chief financial officer of New Jersey Transit, he is a key member of the leadership team revitalizing the agency and finance department. His efforts shortened the financial close from six weeks to two weeks and created meaningful and timely financial reporting which he presents monthly to the board of directors. Bernstein launched initiatives to solve system and process issues impeding NJ Transit’s ability to promptly pay vendors, and one of the key results of a drive for financial efficiencies has been a $10 million savings in employee benefit costs without a reduction in benefits. Other initiatives currently underway include optimizing fare enforcement on proof-of-payment systems and helping determine partnership opportunities with microtransit and Transportation Network Companies.
Bernstein began his career as a civil engineer at Parsons Brinkerhoff (now WSP), before earning his MBA and working in various departments within the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). At the MTA, Bernstein developed financial models for more than $1 billion in rolling stock procurements; benchmarked Metro-North Railroad’s operational and financial performance against other global operators; developed a crew rightsizing model; negotiated work rule changes; was a first responder to the December 2013 Spuyten Duyvil derailment; and led subsequent speed compliance efforts and was the internal financial advisor to the selection committee when the MTA implemented mobile ticketing. Bernstein also served as CFO of global mobile payments firm Bytemark before joining NJ Transit.
Bernstein is a strong advocate for public transit and his contributions to the industry extend beyond his “day job.” He believes strongly in mentoring the next generation of transit leaders and is a frequent guest lecturer on the business of public transit at local universities. Earlier in his career he founded the Greater New York City chapter of the Young Professionals in Transportation and grew the chapter from an idea to one of the largest chapters internationally prior to successfully transitioning leadership. He has presented at TRB and APTA conferences and remains active in both those organizations.
“One could say that my passion for public transit began when I was three years old and my grandmother used to take me for long rides on the New York City subway. More recently though, I joined the industry after completing my bachelors in Civil Engineering at Cooper Union and had the benefit of two great mentors at my first job (at WSP, then Parsons Brinckerhoff) who encouraged me to engage with the industry and pursue my interest in transportation as a career.”
“Fundamentally, public transit is a people business. I work with a great team of smart and motivated people all striving to provide the best possible transportation service in the state of New Jersey. No day is the same and the work we do has a significant effect on NJ Transit’s 263 million annual customers.”
“I joined NJ Transit in 2018 as the company was beginning a turnaround after years of disinvestment. We have great leadership and are on the right path, but it takes time for the changes we have made and continue to make to be visible to the public. The biggest challenge in my job is to ensure that we’re able to meet all our corporate and customer needs while operating within the constraints of our budget. We’ve made significant strides on a multi-year plan in managing our budget to live within our means, while still delivering improvements to the customer experience like funding additional locomotive engineer training classes and hiring new bus operators to increase service. Through a fiscally responsible approach to managing our budget, we’ve also been able to be successful without increasing fares.”
“Professionally, [my greatest achievement is] co-founding the Greater New York City Chapter of the Young Professionals in Transportation and growing it to a thriving sustainable organization with multiple subsequent leadership transitions. Personally, my amazing family. My wife Sara and three daughters: Daniella, Lea and Abby.”
“Public transit is all about providing sustainable mobility for people and I take tremendous satisfaction in knowing that the work my team and I do directly impacts nearly a million people riding NJ Transit’s services a day.”
