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gtfstools vs RadialMR

A side-by-side editorial comparison of gtfstools and RadialMR — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Shared themes:r-package

gtfstools vs RadialMR: at a glance

FeaturegtfstoolsRadialMR
SectorAnalyticsAnalytics
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesgtfs, public-transport, geospatial, r-packagemendelian-randomization, radial-plots, correctness-audit, statistical-inference
Last editorial update1h ago7h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is gtfstools?

gtfstools stopped guarding its own object model and started accepting everyone else's.

gtfstools reads, edits, filters and validates GTFS public transport feeds in R on a data.table backend. Since 1.3.0 it accepts GTFS objects produced by other packages such as gtfsio and tidytransit, converting them through an as_dt_gtfs() generic. Validation runs MobilityData's canonical validator, now supported through v6.0.0.

Read the full gtfstools trajectory →

What is RadialMR?

RadialMR's 2026 release corrects degrees of freedom that had been wrong since documentation.

RadialMR implements radial-plot formulations of IVW and MR-Egger Mendelian randomization, with outlier detection and interactive plotting. The recent history is thin on features and increasingly focused on the arithmetic: 1.2.4 in July 2026 fixes the degrees of freedom returned by egger_radial() to the documented n-2, corrects the heterogeneity p-value that inherited the same error, and repairs a negated lower bound in the random-effects bootstrap standard error search interval in ivw_radial().

Read the full RadialMR trajectory →

gtfstools vs RadialMR: editorial side-by-side

G
gtfstools
ANALYTICS
0.0

gtfstools stopped guarding its own object model and started accepting everyone else's.

◆ Current state

gtfstools reads, edits, filters and validates GTFS public transport feeds in R on a data.table backend. Since 1.3.0 it accepts GTFS objects produced by other packages such as gtfsio and tidytransit, converting them through an as_dt_gtfs() generic. Validation runs MobilityData's canonical validator, now supported through v6.0.0.

◆ Where it's heading

The package built out a wide function surface first — filters, geometry conversion, speed and duration calculations — then turned outward. Delegating validation to MobilityData's validator and accepting other packages' objects both trade self-sufficiency for a position inside the wider GTFS ecosystem. Deprecations are handled slowly, with old behaviour left as the default for a release or more.

◆ Prediction

Expect continued validator version tracking and further completion of the deprecation cycle around filter_by_stop_id()'s full_trips behaviour.

R
RadialMR
ANALYTICS
0.0

RadialMR's 2026 release corrects degrees of freedom that had been wrong since documentation.

◆ Current state

RadialMR implements radial-plot formulations of IVW and MR-Egger Mendelian randomization, with outlier detection and interactive plotting. The recent history is thin on features and increasingly focused on the arithmetic: 1.2.4 in July 2026 fixes the degrees of freedom returned by egger_radial() to the documented n-2, corrects the heterogeneity p-value that inherited the same error, and repairs a negated lower bound in the random-effects bootstrap standard error search interval in ivw_radial().

◆ Where it's heading

This is a package being read closely by its maintainer rather than extended. The 1.2.x line pairs statistical corrections with defensive hardening — an rmr_format class check so unformatted input fails with a clear message, and plotly_radial() dispatching on object class instead of counting list elements. Both are the kind of change made while auditing, not while building.

◆ Prediction

Expect the audit to continue into the remaining estimator internals and print methods rather than new radial variants; the entries show no feature work queued.

Alternatives to gtfstools and RadialMR

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 gtfstools or RadialMR.

See all gtfstools alternatives → · See all RadialMR alternatives →

Recent activity from gtfstools and RadialMR

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 1mo agoRadialMRegger_radial() degrees of freedom corrected to n-2
  2. 3mo agoRadialMRroxygen2 bumped; package-level helpfile added
  3. 4mo agoRadialMRUnspecified codebase optimizations
  4. 1y agoRadialMRggplot2 v4 warning removed from plot_radial()
  5. 1y agogtfstoolsSupports canonical GTFS validator v5 and v6
  6. 1y agogtfstoolsAccepts GTFS objects from gtfsio and tidytransit
  7. 3y agogtfstoolsValidation delegated to MobilityData's canonical validator
  8. 4y agogtfstoolsAdds time-of-day, weekday and frequency filtering functions
  9. 4y agogtfstoolsEstablishes the core GTFS filtering and sf conversion family

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between gtfstools and RadialMR?

Both compete on the same themes — r-package — within Analytics. gtfstools and RadialMR 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 gtfstools better than RadialMR?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. gtfstools and RadialMR 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 gtfstools?

Top gtfstools alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "gtfstools alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/gtfstools-r for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to RadialMR?

Top RadialMR alternatives in Analytics are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "RadialMR alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/radialmr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.