Urban transport is the lifeblood for any urban area in the modern era. As urban areas are expanding, commuters spend increasing amounts of time to travel within the city. They are also exposed to congestion of traffic and inhale polluted air, besides spending a lot of money individually. In doing so, an individual is exposed to risk of accident as well. Ahmedabad in India has been shortlisted by the government of India to be transformed into a 'Smart City'; the city therefore requires an efficient urban transport system. Already multiple modes of transport are used in Ahmedabad. The BRTS (Bus Rapid Transport System) is the latest addition to this category, which promises to deliver an efficient, economical and comfortable mode of transport for commuters in the city and surrounding expanse of Ahmedabad. Hence, this paper analyzes industry competitiveness and profitability, two very important dimensions to decide the fate of participants and potential entrants in any industry. The industry in consideration is the urban public transport industry in the city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat, in India. Porter's five forces namely threat of new entrants, bargaining power of buyers, threat of substitute products or services, bargaining power of suppliers, and rivalry among existing competitors have been analyzed keeping the urban public transport industry of Ahmedabad at the centre stage. The analysis reveals that these forces have varied strengths; most of them have strengths ranging from medium to high. Hence, the industry in consideration is highly competitive and unprofitable. In the final stage, to improve competitiveness and profitability of the urban public transport industry in Ahmedabad, the authors recommend various measures related to route rationalization, creating differentiated services, taxing the users of personal vehicles and inter para transit players for not compensating for the costs they levy on the society by using public infrastructure. The analysis could be used by policy makers, urban local bodies, companies, researchers, and academia interested in urban public transport industry
