Buses would be better than streetcars to move people on busy downtown routes, says Councillor Doug Ford.

Ford and his brother, Mayor Rob Ford, have for years slammed the city’s streetcar fleet for holding up motorists.

“Nothing’s more frustrating for people driving downtown than to get stuck behind a streetcar on Dundas, on King or on Queen,” Councillor Ford told reporters Wednesday.

“I believe we need those extended, articulated buses.”

Ford said it was “unfortunate” the city had ordered 204 new light rail vehicles back in 2009 to replace the aging streetcar fleet. However, he isn’t advocating cancelling deliveries of the new vehicles.

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TTC chief executive Andy Byford said there would be “huge costs” to amending the $1.2 billion streetcar order, and it could set back transit modernization by a decade.

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Byford said the new streetcars would be more environmentally friendly than diesel buses.

“I’m not sure people sitting in cafes on Queen St. want buses belching past them every two minutes,” he said.

However, the TTC boss said something must be done to improve transit flow downtown.

Earlier in his tenure, Byford proposed making King car-free during rush hours but that didn’t go anywhere.

Currently, the transit system is working with the city on parking restrictions, banning left turns and resetting traffic lights.

“Doing nothing is not an option,” Byford said.

If money were available, he said he’d “love” to see a subway under Queen and another north-south route, perhaps along Dufferin St.

Ford said the recent freeze-up of streetcars boosts the case for subways.

“We saw what happened the last couple of days,” he said. “All the more reason we need underground transit in this climate in Toronto.”

Ford, who’s leading his brother’s campaign for re-election as mayor this fall, said subways will be a key issue.

“This will be one of the platforms we’re running in the election, let’s put every single penny we have to underground rapid transit, meaning subways, not streetcars that get frozen.”

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Byford said the existing streetcars are around 30 years old, have travelled 1.3 million kilometres each and have pneumatic braking and doors that can freeze in extreme cold.

However, the new light rail vehicles from Bombardier use electric and hydraulic gear that’s less prone to freezing, he said.

Ford, who has expressed an interest in running for provincial office, took a swipe at provincial politicians who claim the city isn’t putting enough funding into transit. He noted the 2014 budget allocates $916 million for maintenance and repairs to the existing system.

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