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Comparison · Analytics
EpiNow2 vs tidytransit
A side-by-side editorial comparison of EpiNow2 and tidytransit — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
EpiNow2 vs tidytransit: at a glance
What is EpiNow2?
EpiNow2 unified its model interface, then went back to deepen the estimators behind it
EpiNow2 estimates reproduction numbers, infections and delay distributions from incomplete epidemiological reporting data. 1.8.0 was the structural turning point: every main modelling function now returns a consistent S3 object with `fit`, `args` and `observations`, reachable through shared accessors. The releases either side of it work on estimator quality — accumulation of irregularly reported data in 1.7.0, and a substantial expansion of `estimate_truncation()` in 1.9.0.
What is tidytransit?
tidytransit tracks the GTFS spec as it grows, one reader and one router feature at a time.
tidytransit reads GTFS transit feeds into tidy data frames and computes travel times using a RAPTOR implementation. Recent work splits between the reader keeping pace with the spec — locations.geojson in 1.7.0, empty strings parsed as NA in 1.8.0 — and the router gaining realism, most recently in-seat transfers. Feed specifications are now pulled from the automatically parsed GTFS reference rather than maintained by hand.
EpiNow2 vs tidytransit: editorial side-by-side
EpiNow2
0.0ANALYTICS
EpiNow2 unified its model interface, then went back to deepen the estimators behind it
◆ Current state
EpiNow2 estimates reproduction numbers, infections and delay distributions from incomplete epidemiological reporting data. 1.8.0 was the structural turning point: every main modelling function now returns a consistent S3 object with `fit`, `args` and `observations`, reachable through shared accessors. The releases either side of it work on estimator quality — accumulation of irregularly reported data in 1.7.0, and a substantial expansion of `estimate_truncation()` in 1.9.0.
◆ Where it's heading
The package spent this window paying down interface debt and is now extending from the tidier base. Options that existed only for `estimate_infections()` have been propagated outward: `estimate_truncation()` gained the full `dist_spec` delay families, `obs_opts()` observation model selection between Poisson and negative binomial, and the `likelihood` and `return_likelihood` settings that make prior-only fits and loo-compatible output possible. Hardcoded assumptions are being replaced by specifiable ones in the same motion — the truncation model's additive noise term was a fixed `sigma ~ normal(0, 1)` prior and is now a `dist_spec` argument.
◆ Prediction
Expect the remaining modelling functions to keep converging on the shared options interface, since the last two releases have each moved another function onto it. A new `estimate_dist()` for interval-censored linelist data suggests delay estimation is the area still gaining surface.
tidytransit
0.0ANALYTICS
tidytransit tracks the GTFS spec as it grows, one reader and one router feature at a time.
◆ Current state
tidytransit reads GTFS transit feeds into tidy data frames and computes travel times using a RAPTOR implementation. Recent work splits between the reader keeping pace with the spec — locations.geojson in 1.7.0, empty strings parsed as NA in 1.8.0 — and the router gaining realism, most recently in-seat transfers. Feed specifications are now pulled from the automatically parsed GTFS reference rather than maintained by hand.
◆ Where it's heading
The package has settled into tracking an external standard, which is why the changelog reads as a sequence of spec conformance items rather than a roadmap. Parsing responsibility keeps shifting outward to gtfsio, and data sources have moved with the ecosystem, from the retired transitfeeds API to MobilityData. Router changes are rarer than reader changes but land in the same releases.
◆ Prediction
Further GTFS spec features are the safest expectation, with GTFS-Flex the likeliest area now that locations.geojson reading is in place.
Alternatives to EpiNow2 and tidytransit
Other Analytics products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either EpiNow2 or tidytransit.
epikit
epikit narrows to field-epidemiology helpers, handing proportions to a sibling package
SimInf
SimInf 10.0 turns an epidemic simulator into a tool that fits models to real time series
mutagen
A young package porting Stata's egen row-wise helpers to the tidyverse, one function per release
broman
A statistician's personal toolbox, growing one plotting utility at a time
qtl
R/qtl is in pure custodial mode: every recent release answers a compiler, not a user
See all EpiNow2 alternatives → · See all tidytransit alternatives →
Recent activity from EpiNow2 and tidytransit
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1mo agoEpiNow2estimate_truncation gains full delay and observation options
- 6mo agoEpiNow2Unified return objects and shared accessors across all models ⚡
- 6mo agotidytransitIn-seat transfers supported in raptor() and travel_times()
- 11mo agotidytransitstop_group_distances() no longer ignores the by parameter
- 1y agoEpiNow2Patch for an upstream rstan issue
- 1y agoEpiNow2Accumulation for irregularly reported data; unified priors
- 1y agoEpiNow2Matern kernel spectral density fix and GP prior revert
- 1y agotidytransitlocations.geojson reading; specs parsed from the GTFS reference
- 1y agoEpiNow2Gaussian Process model improvements and explicit defaults
- 2y agotidytransitfare_media_id added to fare_products spec
- 3y agotidytransitinterpolate_stop_times() added; router updated
- 3y agotidytransitDuplicated primary key check improved
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between EpiNow2 and tidytransit?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. EpiNow2 and tidytransit are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is EpiNow2 better than tidytransit?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. EpiNow2 and tidytransit are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 0.0 vs 0.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Analytics products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to EpiNow2?
Top EpiNow2 alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "EpiNow2 alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/epinow2 for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to tidytransit?
Top tidytransit alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "tidytransit alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/tidytransit-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.