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tidytransit vs TwoSampleMR

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

tidytransit vs TwoSampleMR: at a glance

FeaturetidytransitTwoSampleMR
SectorAnalyticsAnalytics
Velocity score0.00.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesr, transit, gtfs, routingmendelian-randomization, genetic-epidemiology, correctness-fixes, opengwas
Last editorial update1h ago5h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

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.

Read the full tidytransit trajectory →

What is TwoSampleMR?

The flagship Mendelian randomization package is auditing its own estimators, one bootstrap at a time.

TwoSampleMR is the MRC-IEU package for two-sample Mendelian randomization against OpenGWAS. Its 2026 releases are a sustained correctness review rather than feature work: 0.7.9 fixed bootstrap standard errors in mr_mode() and mr_rucker_bootstrap() that had been inflated since v0.6.30, and repaired two Rucker functions that were returning malformed objects. Point estimates were not affected by the bootstrap bug.

Read the full TwoSampleMR trajectory →

tidytransit vs TwoSampleMR: editorial side-by-side

T
tidytransit
ANALYTICS
0.0

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.

T
TwoSampleMR
ANALYTICS
0.0

The flagship Mendelian randomization package is auditing its own estimators, one bootstrap at a time.

◆ Current state

TwoSampleMR is the MRC-IEU package for two-sample Mendelian randomization against OpenGWAS. Its 2026 releases are a sustained correctness review rather than feature work: 0.7.9 fixed bootstrap standard errors in mr_mode() and mr_rucker_bootstrap() that had been inflated since v0.6.30, and repaired two Rucker functions that were returning malformed objects. Point estimates were not affected by the bootstrap bug.

◆ Where it's heading

The pattern across these releases is a package being read line by line — a copy-paste weight vector in ldsc_rg(), chunking that produced zero splits for short SNP lists, penalisation recycled across the wrong SNPs, dead code paths removed, and regression tests added behind each fix. Alongside it runs a mechanical modernization pass: seq_len() for loop indices, tidyr in place of reshape2, current ggplot2 idioms, and the OpenGWAS URL migration. Feature work is limited to forest plot presentation.

◆ Prediction

Expect the audit to continue through the remaining bootstrap and jackknife routines, with releases staying in the 0.7.x patch range and each fix arriving with its own regression test.

Alternatives to tidytransit and TwoSampleMR

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 tidytransit or TwoSampleMR.

See all tidytransit alternatives → · See all TwoSampleMR alternatives →

Recent activity from tidytransit and TwoSampleMR

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

  1. 1mo agoTwoSampleMRBootstrap standard errors corrected in mode and Rucker estimators
  2. 2mo agoTwoSampleMRWrong weight vector and chunking fixes across the estimator set
  3. 2mo agoTwoSampleMRDeprecated ggplot2 idioms and dead code removed
  4. 3mo agoTwoSampleMROpenGWAS URLs migrated and Wald ratio warnings quieted
  5. 4mo agoTwoSampleMRCategorized forest plots aligned with the published figures
  6. 4mo agoTwoSampleMRFurther internal code optimizations
  7. 6mo agotidytransitIn-seat transfers supported in raptor() and travel_times()
  8. 11mo agotidytransitstop_group_distances() no longer ignores the by parameter
  9. 1y agotidytransitlocations.geojson reading; specs parsed from the GTFS reference
  10. 2y agotidytransitfare_media_id added to fare_products spec
  11. 3y agotidytransitinterpolate_stop_times() added; router updated
  12. 3y agotidytransitDuplicated primary key check improved

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between tidytransit and TwoSampleMR?

They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. tidytransit and TwoSampleMR 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 tidytransit better than TwoSampleMR?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. tidytransit and TwoSampleMR 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 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.

What are the best alternatives to TwoSampleMR?

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