Sir Peter Hendy, London's transport commissioner, handed over to the newly-elected president of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), Mr Masaki Ogata, at the closing ceremony of the UITP's 61st world congress in Milan. Ogata, who is vice-chairman of JR East, is the UITP's first Asian president and only the second non-European to hold the two-year office in the association's 130-year history. So why did Ogata want to take on the role? "The UITP is the most important public transport association in the world and has created a significant and core role in public transport which it will continue to play," Ogata explained. "I have spent 41 years in rail, so it is high time to make my contribution to worldwide public transport. With the rapid growth taking place in Asia it is also high time for someone from an Asian country to take up the presidency."
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