There are so many decisions to make before you go out at night. What will you wear? At whose apartment will you pregame? Which bar will you go to? How drunk will you get?

The most important question, though, is how you will get there. If it’s a long walk, you’ll want to drive. But if you drive, you can’t drink. And if it’s cold, you’ll refuse to walk very far at all. These considerations could put a damper on your weekend — unless you know about nighttime transportation like the BTB Cantina Party Bus, Ann Arbor Pedicab and the Fifth Quarter shuttle bus.

Cheaper than a cab and more flexible than a bus schedule, these transportation companies provide another alternative to footing it across campus.

The blazing red BTB Party Bus couldn’t have a better slogan than what is printed on its front, “$2 Rides.” It rumbles along, picking up people on the street or responding to reservation calls, and you never know who or what you might encounter on the taxi-bus hybrid.

While boarding the bus, the potent smell of fryer grease makes BTB’s use of vegetable oil as alternative fuel obvious. But environmental conscientiousness isn’t the main reason students hail the Party Bus. Rides are often rowdy and always cheap — a long trip within the Ann Arbor city limits costs $4 at most.

“We are sort of rickety and boisterous and that gives us character that students love,” BTB Party Bus driver Gabe Jones said.

Riding on the bus is an experience in itself, as I found when I rode the bus last Thursday. By the time students get on the bus, they are usually somewhat inebriated, so the clientele often has an “anything goes” attitude.

“You’re supposed to be seated the whole ride, but one time I was on the bus, people were dancing and humping one another,” LSA junior Joshua Yim said.

But the Party Bus can be just as difficult to snag as a cab if you don’t make a reservation ahead of time. Luckily, though, other operations have sprung up to fill the niche for alternative transportation.

Fifth Quarter, Ann Arbor’s newest Tuesday night freshman destination, launched its own shuttle bus this past Welcome Week, which is available Thursday through Saturday after 10 p.m.. Painted a drab brown and featuring only one comfortable couch, Fifth Quarter’s minibus isn’t as cheery as the BTB Party Bus. But it offers a similarly enticing deal: rides to Fifth Quarter are free, while anywhere else within a 10-mile radius of the club will cost you $2.

But the Fifth Quarter bus seems to lack the party atmosphere of BTB transport. When I rode the bus last Thursday, there were only two other people, which combined with the absence of music, made for an awkward silence. The Bursley-Bates bus gets wilder than that. Of course, if your destination is Fifth Quarter, this shuttle bus is your best option since it’s free.

Your next alternative transit option is pedicabs, or tricycles toting hooded seats. Business sophomore Calvin Schemanski started a pedicab business in Ann Arbor this semester after a successful test run during the summer in his hometown of Petoskey, Mich.

“My partner and I decided to make a business out of the tourist appeal of our city (Petoskey) and I decided to bring it here because I felt it would be successful,” he said.

There are two pedicabs that roam Central Campus from about 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, weather permitting. You can either flag them down (they are usually on South University Avenue or State Street, between William and Liberty) or you can call and ask to be picked up. Schemanski said there is no charge because any tips they make are pure profit. However, there is a suggested donation depending on where you’re going.

“When someone asks how much the ride would cost, I ask them where there are going and give them a quote,” Schemanski said. “For a ride less than 10 minutes, I would ask for a couple of bucks and leave it at that.”

The pedicabs can fit two people comfortably, but since the weight limit is approximately 600 pounds, Schemanski said even five people would be able to ride together. And yes, that has happened before.

“A group of girls and guys, five of them, hopped in, and they seemed to be having fun,” he said.

Schemanski added that the service seems to be more popular with women, although he has had a fair number of males ride, too. Unfortunately, Calvin said that in a few weeks, he will be suspending services until next fall since it will soon be too cold to stay out in tricycles three nights a week.

So this weekend, don’t fret if your taxi numbers only get busy signals and freezing rain threatens to keep you hostage indoors. Try one of these modes of alternative nighttime transportation — because dealing with the smell of restaurant grease is better than having a dull Friday night.