Privatization Of Public Utilities In Government Management Functions Change

Since the end of 1970s, western countries started to hold high the red banner of carrying out reform of public sectors, discard of bureaucracy and study from private sectors. One of those key viewpoints is to carry out marketization of public services, to emphasize the separation of the roll as producer and the roll as supplier of government in public service supply, to break the boundary between public and private sectors, to lead the governance reform from inside to outside and to hand over the function to provide public services of government to or share it with private sectors. China makes no exception with the fact that marketization has permeated in social utilities and is closely interrelated to all citizens after 10 years of reform and exploration. However, could marketization bring high efficiency as expected? Could it lead to win-win situation among government, society and public? We may notice that marketized utility could cause sacrifice or harm of public appeal because of the eager pursue for economic profit of private enterprises which requests a change of management function of government from involving directly in decision-making and operation to playing even more the role as guide and supervisor. For example, the government should conduct supervision to service quality and efficiency after marketization and decision-makers'performance during the marketization process; set up fair and efficient competitive mechanism; form fair mechanism of permitting the entrance to this market; provide necessary support and help to private enterprises, which participate in the marketization process and formulate perfect laws and regulations, and so on.The essay picks the case of Wuxi Public Transport Company took the lead to cooperate with Hong Kong Kowloon Motor Bus Co. Ltd to introduce marketization into city public transport. It elaborates the effects after Hong Kong Kowloon Motor Bus Co. Ltd entered public transport of Wuxi but finally failed and quitted because of conflict of interests of different sides after 3 years, when the contract was expired. It analyzes reasons for failure from government side, especially absence of its duties and clear policy guidance. Drawing lessons from marketization of public transport from abroad, the essay proposes some suggestions regarding policy-making in the hope to help city managers to push forward the marketization of public utilities positively and successfully, such as the government should change their way of thinking and participate actively in the process of marketization; increase input and support to public transportation; carry out supervision to partner enterprises and governmental departments by any means; adopt active measures to develop public transportation; promote innovation in governmental management and so on.