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New South Wales authorities have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and served two traffic infringement notices for reported reckless operation following a large group of electric bicycle users gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday.

The Event: An Illegal Gathering

A group of around 40 individuals operating electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The riders subsequently reversed direction and rode through the city’s CBD and a nearby district.

"There was a risk of people to be injured and killed," remarked a senior police official the officer on Wednesday.

Police said they did not immediately pursue the riders out of concerns for public safety but instead located the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the city gardens, where they dispersed.

Penalties Issued for Content Creator

On Saturday, authorities stated they had issued the American online personality known as Sur Ronster, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (with no death or previous bodily harm), with a penalty of $562 and three demerit points each, connected to the bridge incident. They added that the investigation is ongoing.

The influencer is said to have more than 3.4 million followers on one platform and more than 1.2m on the social media app.

Influencer's Comments

The online figure spoke with a major newspaper recently following the event gained traction on news sites and social media, saying he was sorry for giving "bike life" a bad reputation.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was one of the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he said. "I’m coming here as a guest, and I intend to come here respecting the laws and norms of the city. When I decided to do a meet and greet it did not involve a ride-out, it was just to say hi under the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, I am to blame we found ourselves on the bridge and I had two choices: either the group completes the entirety of the bridge and turns around, an illegal act. Or we turn around, basically, before we’re on the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to turn around."

National Debate on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of electric bicycles on roads nationwide has prompted growing calls for stricter rules. The federal health minister, the minister, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Young people have engaged in reckless acts on bikes ever since the early bicycle [but] the injuries that are coming into our ERs are truly severe," the minister stated. "We must make sure we stop these things entering the country [and] police are granted the powers to take strong action, to take them away, to destroy them, to destroy them."

NSW reported over two hundred injuries related to ebikes in 2024. However, in the first seven months of the following year, that figure surged to 233 injuries plus four fatalities.