On Monday's Backchat, we're talking about premium taxis.

The first such luxury cabs are expected to hit the streets in the next few months, with more than 1,500 to follow by next year, after transport authorities approved five premium taxi fleet licenses.


Fleet operators will be required to accept e-payment and use vehicles less than three years old, while passengers will also be given the option to book the cabs online.


The move was largely welcomed by taxi representatives, although critics have challenged the "premium" designation, arguing that such standards should be imposed on all of the city's 18,000 cabs. Questions have also been raised about the lack of newcomers, as the approved operators are all well established in the city's taxi trade.


Is this a step in the right direction? Tell us what you think.


After 9:45, we're talking about a new medical-grade smartphone stethoscope which can help detect heart diseases.

9:05am-9:45am: Premium taxi licenses


9:05am-9:15am: Frankie Yick, Liberal Party Lawmaker; Transport Constituency
9:15am-9:45am: Alok Jain, CEO and Managing Director at Trans-Consult
9:30am-9:45am: Tony Sze, Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

9:45am-10:00am: Smartphone stethoscope

9:45am-10:00am: Joshua Ho, Associate Professor in the School of Biomedical Sciences, HKUMed and Lead Scientist of the HKU Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health, The University of Hong Kong