I am going to say something that is just a fact: driving in Freetown is traumatic if you were not an operation driver during the revo.

Every time I have to get into a car to drive I have to talk myself, I do sign of the cross (even though I'm not a Christian) into it. That is how much it takes to get mentally prepared for the okada/Keke/tax/sandsandlorry/hungryAF police/government-officials-too-good-to-drive-the-right-way/open-gutters/potholes-that-appear-overnight/people-who-wait-till-they-see-you-approach-before-they-zip-line-to-cross/city-with-only-2-street-lights/and foolulus who don’t yield to their left cause no one taught them right of way before they got their license and yell at you when you yield.

I hate every damn minute and if I ever get married it will be because a man took me away from this horror of a driving life. Sigh! FrFr.

Anyway one of my gigs in Sierra Leone is at UNICEF so I have to go there. The Medical Stores compound in New Englandville next to UNICEF is a terrible place for parking. Our people have turned it to a junkyard/garage. Over the past six months I’ve gone to work at UNICEF and had to wait an hour trying to find parking outside because the area was that full. 

Last week when I had to go in to work there I was for real full of dread until I remembered that a local car hire company had released an app. 

I went to the Appstore to look for it and there it was Flash!

I downloaded the app. Signed up as an individual and put my phone number for confirmation. I got an SMS and leke dat I was ready to book my first ride. 

It had a map allowing me to either pin point my location or enter my address. Just like Uber! 

The next morning I got a call from the driver that he was on my street trying to find my address. I also got an SMS when it arrived. My car arrived at 9:35am. It was a white landcrusier I believe. 

I scooped up my gown and hopped up into the back seat. Telling the driver that the car wasn't for ladies cause you gotta really hoist yourself up (real ladies, the elderly, or people with disabilities would struggle to enter). Let us be honest this country isn't for anyone who needs assistance for real. If it was tin den not foh bin tranga so. But I digress.

The SUV was clean and neat. Took me to where I needed to get in ample time. Driver was professional. We made good small talk. I was so happy I even tipped 10,000 leones in addition to the 30,000 bill I got at the end of the trip from Murray Town to New England. That is like $3! I was like oh sh!t these people are about to enjoy all my money because I felt like they really saved my life my giving me the option to not drive.

I received my receipt via email. If I was only traveling this way it would be a great way to keep track of all my spending on transport. 

That same day I used the Flash app two more times and it worked just as well. 

Car came in time, car was neat, drivers were all correct. 

I'll be using them again. 

Flash na wi own Uber but better because the drivers are actually full time employees.