Research Of Legal Problems About Price Control In Public Transport Trade

Market mechanism is of great efficiency in the supply of private products, while it has limitations in supplying public products. Public transportation belongs to a "crowded" public product with natural monopolizing and externality. Therefore, public transportation service cannot be completely regulated by market, proper intervention by the government representing social public welfare is necessary. To guarantee social fairness and promote social welfare, Economics study suggests that only when the price mechanism normally gives play to market mechanism under the premise of following the market law can appropriate governmental control reach the goal of both reflecting the efficiency and attending to public welfare, price control is one of the important means of governmental intervention. In order to control price efficiently, the government must solve three problems as follows.Firstly, control on price in public transport trade by the government must be legal. This legality stems from the necessity and efficiency of price control over economy, as well as the legality of governmental control activities. On one hand, the law that activities based on should comply with the basic legal principles and be of corresponding legal validities which can reflect the objective market law. On the other hand, the control activities themselves should strictly be restricted within the scope and follow the procedure established by the law.Secondly, the relationship among the government, proprietor and consumer in public transport trade should be clarified. In order to efficiently implement price control in public transport trade, government activities should be restricted in accordance with the law, and each market subject's participation should be guaranteed. That is, China's price control in public transportation industry should balance the interests of consumers and the proprietors while the government improper control activities should be avoided since they hinder the normal operation of market mechanism. The government should not only be endowed with rights to control price, but also be restricted by law to avoid abusing power. Therefore, the government's role in price control should be correctly defined and the subjects' rights (authorities) and obligations should be clearly determined.The third issue is the government' s operation on price control. It mainly includes: the establishment of governmental control organ, the allocation of rights and obligations, the practice of democratic control pattern with public full participation,...