Tuesday, 27th April 2010   12.30pm for 1.00pm

The National Liberal Club
Whitehall Place
London
SW1A 2HE
(nearest tube: Embankment Station)

£50 per head
Deadline for booking:  Friday, 23rd April 2010

We are delighted that Alex Williams, Director of Borough Partnerships, Transport for London, will  be the Guest of Honour at this joint lunch with JCCI. With responsibility for land use planning, interchange projects across London and managing TfL’s relationship with the London boroughs, his insights into the issues facing the managers of London’s transport infrastructure will be fascinating.

Transport for London’s job is to keep London moving.  Over 26 million journeys take place each working day inside the Greater London boundary. TfL runs London’s main roads, traffic lights, licences its taxis, operates the Thames piers and transport services for disabled people, in addition to running the tube, buses, DLR and trams. However the system is under growing pressure. With ageing and unreliable infrastructure and with increasing congestion on the roads and public transport, the effective management of London’s integrated transport system is a daily miracle.  With London’s population set to grow by another million in the next decades the challenge is to modernise and increase capacity on its system.  This is all against a background of tight public finances.

TfL’s strategy for London’s transport is to support London’s continued success by increasing transport capacity while making life better for London’s commuters.  It sounds simple – it’s not.

Alex Williams joined TfL in 2007 and is responsible for interchange projects across London, for TfL’s relationship with the London boroughs, and for Land Use Planning for applications referable to the Mayor. Before joining TfL, he worked for 18 years in the London borough, including as Assistant Director of the Culture & Environment Directorate at the London Borough of Camden (2003-2007) and Director of Transport & Planning Policy at the London Borough of Ealing (2000-2003).

Drinks will be served from 12.30pm to 1.00pm in the library (known as the Smoking Room), which is on the first floor; the lunch will be at tables of 10 in The Lloyd George Room.

To reserve your place, please contact the Japan Society office on tel: 020 7828 6330 or email: events@japansociety.org.uk