NSW authorities have issued a fine against an US-based online influencer and handed out two driving violation citations for reported negligent driving after a large group of electric bicycle users converged on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on a weekday.
A gathering of around 40 individuals operating electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The assembly then turned around and traveled through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.
"There was potential for people to be injured and killed," remarked NSW police assistant commissioner David Driver on Wednesday.
Police said they did not immediately pursue the group due to concerns for public safety but instead located the assembly at a scenic Sydney lookout near the Botanic Gardens, at which point they broke up.
Later in the week, authorities stated they had served the American online personality who goes by Sur Ronster, 26, with two violation tickets for negligent driving (with no death or previous bodily harm), with a fine of over five hundred dollars and three demerit points per notice, connected to the bridge incident. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.
The influencer is said to have more than 3.4 million followers on one platform and over 1.2m on Instagram.
The online figure spoke with a major newspaper this week following the event spread rapidly on digital platforms, saying he regretted giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.
"I accept the blame. That was among the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he said. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going to abide by the laws and norms of the city. So when I decided to do a meet and greet it did not involve a ride-out, it was just to greet people near the bridge."
"I did not know the area well, I am to blame we found ourselves on the bridge and I had two choices: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and turns around, an illegal act. Or we turn around, essentially, before we’re on the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to turn around."
The increase of e-bikes on roads nationwide has sparked increasing demands for stricter rules. The federal health minister, 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 ERs are truly severe," the minister stated. "We’ve got to ensure we stop these things entering the country [and] officers are given the authority to take strong action, to confiscate them, to crush them, to dispose of them."
The state recorded 226 injuries related to electric bikes in 2024. But, in the first seven months of the following year, that figure jumped to 233 injuries plus four fatalities.
