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NSW authorities have issued a fine against an US-based online influencer and handed out two driving violation citations for alleged negligent driving following a swarm of e-bike riders gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday.

The Event: An Illegal Gathering

A group of around 40 people operating electric bikes and motorbikes travelled 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 potential for serious injury or fatalities," remarked a senior police official David Driver on the following day.

Police indicated they did not chase right away the riders due to concerns for public safety but instead located the group at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the city gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Content Creator

Later in the week, authorities stated they had served 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 over five hundred dollars and penalty points each, connected to the bridge ride-out. They added that the investigation is ongoing.

The influencer reportedly has over 3.4 million followers on one platform and over 1.2 million on the social media app.

Influencer's Comments

The content creator gave comments to a major newspaper recently after the incident spread rapidly on digital platforms, stating he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a negative image.

"I accept the blame. It was one of the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he told the publication. "I am a visitor here, and I intend to abide by the rules and standards of the city. When I decided to do a public meeting it was not meant to include a ride-out, it was just to say hi under the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, it was my fault we ended up on the bridge and I had a decision to make: either the group rides the full length of the bridge and comes back, which is a crime. Or we reverse, essentially, before we’re on the bridge. I chose at the time to go back."

National Debate on E-Bike Regulation

The spate of electric bicycles on roads nationwide has sparked growing calls for stricter rules. A senior government official, Mark Butler, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Kids have done 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," he said. "We’ve got to ensure we prevent these things entering the country [and] officers are given the authority to crack down, to take them away, to destroy them, to destroy them."

NSW recorded over two hundred injuries related to electric bikes in 2024. But, in the first seven months of the following year, that figure surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.