Water company sends UBER DRIVERS to investigate leaking pipes 'because it is cheaper for them to film the problems than to deploy a trained technician straight away' Severn Trent, which provides water in the Peak District, send taxi and Uber drivers to film around 50 reported leaks over a two weeks period The drivers sent footage to Severn who then dispatched 'appropriate teams' GMB union warned drivers would not spot contamination, risking public health
By Joel Adams For Mailonline
Published: 19:50 GMT, 11 March 2019 | Updated: 19:50 GMT, 11 March 2019
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A water company has been criticised by unions for sending taxis rather than engineers to check on reports of leaks.
Severn Trent sent taxi and Uber drivers to around 50 reports of small leaks. The company said doing so was 'a cheaper way to get live video footage' compared with using their own staff.
Those drivers sent images to engineers back at base who dispatched the most appropriate teams to the job, Severn Trent added.
But the GMB union warned the trial programme had 'huge safety implications for customers, drivers, and the public at large'.
Union officials revealed the firm had used the driver scheme over two
