According to figures, the tunnels brought in more than PS1.8 million more than Merseytravel had projected for in the previous fiscal year. According to the end-of-year records, Merseytravel had projected for the tolls to generate PS41 million in revenue, but the actual total was PS42,866,000. The figure also exceeded expectations set by chief executive Anthony Smith when he took over at the end of 2015. At that time, he had hoped to increase annual revenues by about PS500,000. The extra money will be used to improve services for passengers and drivers, such as new toilets and ticket machines. It will also go towards maintaining the existing infrastructure of the tunnel, which is maintained by a consortium of companies instead of being done by transport authorities like other UK roads. The original contract with a British company called MML Group was signed in January 1997. It required them to maintain the tunnel as well as doing some major refurbishments every 10 years. But after the first maintenance contract ended in February 2007, no further contracts have been signed. Instead, the government has given the job to private operators who charge users for access. The current contract with Translink runs until 2020 and is expected to be worth around PS140 million. Since the opening of the tunnel in October 2016, traffic has increased by 20% due to higher demand from commuters and visitors who can now avoid rush hours on the M6 and M55.