TORONTO

Mayor Rob Ford says he wants to rid Toronto of “those damn streetcars” one day.

Ford made the boast certain to enrage Red Rocket fans during an interview with Sun News Network host David “The Menzoid” Menzies this week. The full interview is set to air Thursday on SNN’s Menzoid Mornings between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m.

Ford raged against streetcars during the wide-ranging discussion Tuesday in Menzoid’s “man cave”.

“I hate those damn streetcars - they are just a pain in the rear-end,” Ford said. “You get behind them and you can’t get around them and then you get your cyclists too. Between those two (streetcars and cyclists) trying to get from where I live to downtown, it’s a nightmare.

“I’d like to get rid of those streetcars, maybe phase them out. I’m not sure how we’re going to do it but I’d like to slowly but surely get rid of those streetcars and maybe replace them with buses.”

Getting rid of streetcars entirely wouldn’t be easy.

The TTC has 204 new streetcars on order at a cost of $1.2 billion, plus a $400 million maintenance and storage facility that is under construction.

“To replace streetcars with buses would require two-three times the number of buses, plus at least two new bus garages,” TTC spokesman Brad Ross said Wednesday.

Ford also guaranteed he won’t give up the fight to build subways in the city despite council rejecting his subway push last year.

“We’re going to be getting, guaranteed getting, subways,” Ford told Menzies.

Ford argued subways will be a key issue in the 2014 election and councillors who don’t support underground transit will lose.

“Everyone is doing polling in their area. We’re doing polling. I see the numbers and they see the numbers and when you ask about subways and why so and so didn’t support them, they’re not going to win the next election,” he said.

“They realize that they have to support subways to get re-elected, it’s huge. That’s what people want especially out in Scarborough - they need a subway and I’m going to get subways for them.”

As a mayoralty candidate in 2010, Ford campaigned on building a subway into Scarborough. In 2012, council voted in favour of building a light-rail line along Sheppard Ave. into Scarborough rather than pursuing any plan to build a subway to the Scarborough Town Centre.

“They’re being treated like second-class citizens in North York and Scarborough,” Ford said. “Why can’t we run a subway on Sheppard to the Scarborough Town Centre? It doesn’t make any sense at all.”

The final segment of Menzies’ one-on-one interview with Ford airs Friday.