Tony Peltier (Tony Goes There)

Tony Peltier is the owner of Tony Goes There, a transportation company that offers safe and reliable rides all throughout the Twin Cities and beyond. 

Originally from Circle Pines, Minnesota, growing up Tony befriended everyone.

“Back then, I lived for the Friday night school dances,” says Peltier, whose dance floor slides were indeed electric.  

“Dancing is how I found myself and discovered who I was.” 

And Tony is not kidding when he says that dance changed him. 

Throughout his mid-to-late twenties he was a semi-professional dancer.

Curious as ever, I investigate further. 

“Let’s get into that,” I say, sitting up a little straighter in the passenger seat of Peltier’s minivan that zips us around the spacious suburb of Eagan.

He points out that he was part of a troupe that traveled around the state. 

“We did fundraising for nonprofits, and homecoming games for high school football teams,” Peltier shares, but his aptitude for dance didn’t end there.

He once auditioned for the previously-popular TV show, So You Think You Can Dance, even flying to Chicago to test his mettle against 2,500 other contestants. 

“I made it through the first three elimination rounds and did my solo on TV before they cut me,” Peltier says of that endeavor. 

When Tony wasn’t cutting it up on the dance floor, he worked in radio – studying Broadcasting at Brown College, plus more than a decade in corporate positions, but nothing clicked until he started driving for a living.

“I liked the fact that I could meet new people all the time. A lot of people had a cool story, and over time I decided that I wanted to do this on my own, without the support of a major platform like Uber or Lyft,” Peltier says, hooking a Randy (right turn) onto a county road that will bring him and I toward Rosemount. 

“That, and I was sick of paying them half of my fares, and not being able to properly vet the people getting into my car.” 

But things really changed for Peltier after he met a woman on Lyft who was reluctant to get into his car. 

“I need to ask you a question, and I need you to answer it honestly,” this particular woman had asked him. 

“…are you going to hurt me?” 

Says Peltier, in recalling the significance of that interaction: 

“I knew right then that I needed to be an advocate for women in transportation. I never wanted another woman to have to feel how that woman felt.”

Six years later, Peltier still drives the once-concerned woman to the airport.

More importantly, Tony, married and a father of three, has become a trusted source for women who aren’t entirely comfortable riding in the backseat of a car with a strange, random driver. 

For context, while rare, there have been horrific acts committed against women who use rideshare apps, but in general, Peltier says that many women don’t feel comfortable riding in a random car with a random person at the wheel.  

“There was an article published a few years back that described how, after interviewing thousands of women, 72% of the women felt some level of discomfort at some point in their ride,” Peltier notes.

“That figure included instances spanning from the driver not doing anything to assist a woman with her luggage, all the way to some of the extremes like sexual misconduct.” 

Statistically, it’s very unlikely that a crime will be committed when a woman rides in an Uber or Lyft, but there are also those who would rather not potentially expose them to risk, no matter how small that exposure is.

For his part, he doesn’t just talk about wanting to give women a safe alternative to the apps.

To date, Peltier has partnered with Alexandria House, a domestic abuse treatment center, to offer rides to women.

He also works with Stories Foundation, helping drive women who have escaped from their sex traffickers.  

“I also love giving back and helping women-owned businesses,” says Tony, whose service has exploded to the point where people from out of state will book him whenever they fly into the Twin Cities. 

For reference, his service costs approximately 15-30% more than if one were to simply use Uber or Lyft for a standard ride, but because clients can book Peltier for several hours at a time, his rates become comparable, if not less than, a hired black car service. 

“If someone books me for rides going to and from their appointment, then sometimes I’m actually about half the price of what a hired black car service would be,” Peltier clarifies. 

“This happens a lot with clients who need to travel from the Twin Cities down to Mayo Clinic for a multitude of tests. In those instances, they’re going to be down there for several hours, and so they like the convenience of having me drive them down there and then be around for whenever they need to go back home.”

For those looking for safe transportation throughout a planned night out, Peltier also specializes in shuttling clients between destinations. 

“With things like brewery tours, plays, and sporting events, it’s a lot easier for me to be on-call while they’re at specific locations instead of them having to call an Uber every time they want to go to a different bar or restaurant,” explains Peltier. 

His minivan only holds six, but then again, Peltier isn’t appealing to the inebriated frat guys who want a ride home at 2 A.M.

Nor is he aiming to be connected with those who bounce back and forth between Uber and Lyft in search of the cheapest ride available.

Instead, Tony is seeking to help those who are okay with paying more to get a bona fide service that protects them from all the headaches that can come with using another service. 

“There are subtle things that people appreciate about my service, such as the fact that I am the driver. There’s a familiarity factor there with not only me, but also with my vehicle,” Peltier says. 

“Often these are things that people don’t even consciously think about, but from a safety perspective, when you know what a vehicle looks like and who is inside of that vehicle, that provides a level of comfort, and you just can’t get that with one of the bigger ridesharing apps.”

Ever the entrepreneur, Peltier accepts credit cards, Venmo, and cash, and he also has a strict cancellation policy that protects his most valuable asset.

“My most expensive commodity is my time, and so I want to make sure that it’s well documented and understood by my clients,” says Peltier, who then turns onto Diffley Road to begin the return trek back to my condo, at which point I swivel my head to check on my videographer and see that the rest of Peltier’s vehicle is spacious and spotless, a sign of his care extending beyond his safe and reliable driving.  

“Communication is pivotal in the transportation business. I’m trying to exceed expectations with everything I do, but to do that I also have to establish expectations, which is why I go to many lengths to be very upfront and fair with people.”

In the coming years, Peltier will continue to transport people to and from their destinations, safety and protection at the forefront of his efforts, but the Circle Pines native is also expanding his entrepreneurial endeavors.

The next time you go to a wedding in the Twin Cities, you may just recognize the DJ!

“We’re bride focused,” Peltier says of his new wedding DJ business, which means that moving forward Peltier will be mostly available for rides only from Sunday-Thursday. 

“Just like with driving, I take pride in focusing on the bride. I’m excited about this new venture, but I’m equally giddy about continuing to serve the people of the Twin Cities by offering safe and reliable transportation that is also hopefully enjoyable as well.” QS

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