 While this initially resulted in a slump in crossings from 300,000 to less than 210,000 in 1993, as the diversion travelling via Newport became more congested the popularity of the floating bridge began to rise again.The argument was put forward that by taking out passenger compartments the overall capacity of the ferry could be increased by up to 30%.Following this it was hoped that the service could become profitable, as it has historically always made a loss.