A number of private bus companies and van drivers are trying to pick up the slack left by this summer's MTA's service cuts. They're thinking private enterprise could operate those routes more efficiently than the public sector -- and even make a profit. In late June, one company, Mr. S Charter Services, started running along a former express bus route in Brooklyn.

The buses don’t look like typical MTA buses. When one pulls up to Coney Island Avenue and Avenue X after 7:30 one morning, its windshield is embalzoned with the words "God Bless America" and "Blessed Save with Grace."