One thing that annoys me with regards to ANE (and GNE) is that, personally, it is very hard to get to Cramlington. On a regular weekday, I could hop on a 19, or a 57/A if I could get to Bedlington, instead I have these options (for a journey that takes 10 minutes in a car):

From Morpeth Bus Station: 
2 to Blyth, then an X5 to Cramlington (56 minutes)
X18 to Newcastle, then an X11 to Cramlington (61 minutes) 

From Bedlington:
2 to Blyth, then an X5 to Cramlington (35 minutes)
X21 to Newcastle, then an X10 to Cramlington (58 minutes) 

So, for a round trip, that's some serious time as even a weekday bus only takes 16 minutes on a 57 (from Bedlington) 

For people who may not know, and may think I'm being picky, for me and my friends Cramlington is pretty much perfect, cinema, lots of restaurant choice etc, so is a better option than Newcastle sometimes