Sophomores win PennDOT innovation challenge

At the end of January, sophomores Faizaan Siddique and Drew Hunter submitted a proposal to solve a truck parking transportation problem to the PennDOT innovation challenge. Their proposal of a truck oasis and creation of the app TruckPark PA landed the team the first place spot in PennDOT’s Engineering District 6. The duo competed against four other teams from three different schools in District 6, which contains Chester, Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware and Philadelphia Counties.

Each year, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation releases a real-world challenge for students in grades 9-12 to solve. The challenge for 2023 — released this past October — was to find a way for commercial truck drivers to park along Pennsylvania freight corridors that connect truck transport across the nation. Hunter and Siddique created their solution over the course of two months and conducted research to perfect their proposal.

“First, we started to give ideas and do research in the area, and we landed on the Lebanon County area for us to do our design. Faizaan wanted to base this off the Illinois Tollway oasis. Also, we added an application of a truck parking app where (truck drivers) can reserve spots,” Hunter said.

The challenge consisted of two stages. First, the team created a truck oasis plan for commercial vehicles. A truck oasis would provide a designated rest area with gas stations, restrooms, food and parking options. Additionally, the TruckPark PA app allowed fatigued drivers to book parking spots in these oases.

“I am experienced with app development, so I did the app and visuals because I am also good at drawing. Drew also made sure everything was smooth,” Siddique said.

With Siddique and Hunter’s proposal displaying a complete, innovative and well-planned proposal, the two moved onto the second stage of the challenge. Stage two took place in February which allowed the duo to present an expanded version of their proposal to District 6 PennDOT executives and other department heads. After an evaluation of their proposal and presentation at the state level, the team obtained the District 6 title for the PennDOT innovation challenge.

The two are continuing on to compete at the statewide competition on April 25. One winning team from each of the 11 transportation districts in Pennsylvania will compete for the state title and $4,000 cash prize. Siddique feels that creating and implementing an innovation with Hunter gave him new experience in the transportation field.

“Competing in the Innovation Challenge was definitely a very fun experience,” Siddique said. “It gave me the opportunity to apply my observations and ideas through a comprehensive and innovative proposal.”