How We Built Charge Runner: An EV Charging App With Mobile Charging Service

Every EV driver knows the feeling. The battery is lower than you planned, the nearest charger is busy or broken, and the trip suddenly feels longer. Charge Runner was built around that moment.

Charge Runner is an EV charging product with two parts that share a name. There is a mobile Level 2 charging service, where the charge comes to the driver's location, and there is an app, live on iOS and Android, for finding stations, paying and tracking charging. We built the app at Arominx. This post walks through what it does and the thinking behind it.

The problem it addresses

Range anxiety is mostly a planning and trust problem. Drivers worry about three things: whether a charger will be available when they arrive, whether it will work, and how awkward payment will be. Most public charging apps help with the first, and many fall short on the other two.

Charge Runner's website puts the other side of the problem plainly: "Low EV battery?" For a driver who is already stranded, a map of stations is not enough. That is why the service comes to you.

The mobile charging service

Charge Runner EV delivers mobile Level 2 charging to the customer's location. The tagline is "We Bring the Charge to You." The website lists two options: an emergency service starting at $199 and a scheduled service starting at $99. It currently serves Philadelphia and South Jersey, daily from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM Eastern, subject to dispatch availability. Customers can call or text 856-438-0592.

What the app does

The mobile app is described as an everyday charging companion for commuters, road trippers and people running local errands. According to its store listings, it includes:

- A station finder with an interactive map, filterable by connector type, charging speed (Level 2 or DC Fast) and availability.

- Live charger status, showing whether a charger is available, in use or out of service.

- Starting and stopping sessions from the phone, paying with a saved card or digital wallet, and receiving digital receipts.

- Charging history, with past sessions, costs and habits in one place.

- Notifications when a target battery level is reached, when a session finishes, or when charging is interrupted.

- Route planning with charging stops for longer trips.

- Favorites and community reviews for stations you use often.

- 24/7 customer support.

Three design decisions worth explaining

1. Put the answer to "will it work?" first. Live status and filters sit at the front of the experience, because a driver should know whether a charger is usable before driving to it.

2. Take the friction out of paying. Starting a session, paying and getting a receipt from the same screen removes the usual pile of separate apps and accounts. The app has also added Apple payment support along the way.

3. Keep the driver informed after the plug goes in. Charging takes time, so alerts for target level reached, session finished or charging interrupted let people get on with their day instead of watching a screen.

Shipping in the open

The iOS app was first released in late April and has gone through regular updates since, including membership plans, pricing adjustments, Apple payment support and performance fixes. The Android app is live on Google Play. We think releasing early and improving in public is the honest way to build a product like this, because real drivers surface problems no test plan finds.

One thing we want to be straightforward about: the app is young, and we are not going to quote download numbers or results it has not earned yet. The App Store carries a small number of early ratings, including a review from a driver who nearly ran out of charge and was reached by a charging provider in about 20 minutes. That is a single user's experience, not a promise or a benchmark.

What this means if you are planning an EV or on-demand service app

- Decide which moment you are solving for. Charge Runner's service is for the driver in trouble, and the app is for the driver planning ahead. Those are different jobs, and mixing them without care confuses users.

- Payments deserve their own design time. Saved cards, wallets and receipts are where trust is won or lost.

- Plan for operations, not just screens. A service that dispatches people to locations depends on hours, coverage areas and availability being stated honestly.

- Start with one region. Charge Runner began in Philadelphia and South Jersey, which keeps service quality manageable before expanding.

Try Charge Runner

Website: https://chargerunnerev.com/

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/charge-runner/id6760221738

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.arominx.chargerunner&hl=en

Planning an app of your own?

At Arominx we build mobile apps, web platforms and custom software for businesses that want to launch something real. If you are thinking about an app in energy, mobility, on-demand services or another market, tell us about it at arominx.com and we will talk through what it could look like.