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NSW police have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and served two traffic infringement notices for reported negligent driving after a large group of e-bike riders converged on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute on Tuesday.

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A group of around 40 individuals operating electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The riders then turned around and traveled through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

"There was potential for serious injury or fatalities," stated NSW police assistant commissioner the officer on the following day.

Police said they did not immediately pursue the riders due to safety concerns but rather found the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the Botanic Gardens, at which point they broke up.

Fines Imposed for Content Creator

On Saturday, police stated they had served the US social media influencer who goes by Sur Ronster, 26, with two violation tickets for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a fine of $562 and penalty points per notice, connected to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

The influencer is said to have over 3.4 million subscribers on YouTube and over 1.2 million on Instagram.

Influencer's Comments

The content creator spoke with a major newspaper recently following the event gained traction on digital platforms, stating he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a negative image.

"I accept the blame. It was among the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he told the publication. "I am a visitor here, and I intend to come here respecting the laws and norms of the city. When I decided to do a public meeting it did not involve a group ride, it was just to say hi near the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, it was my fault we ended up on the bridge and I had two choices: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and comes back, which is a crime. Or we reverse, basically, before we’re on the bridge. I chose at the time to turn around."

National Debate on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of e-bikes on roads nationwide has sparked increasing demands for regulation. A senior government official, Mark Butler, commented that illegal ebikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Young people have engaged in reckless acts on bikes since the invention of the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are coming into our hospital emergency departments are absolutely devastating," the minister said. "We’ve got to make sure we prevent these things entering the country [and] police are granted the authority to take strong action, to take them away, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

NSW recorded over two hundred injuries associated with ebikes in the previous year. But, in the initial half of the following year, that number jumped to 233 injuries plus four deaths.