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NSW authorities have issued a fine against an US-based online influencer and handed out two traffic infringement notices for reported reckless operation after a large group of electric bicycle users converged on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on a weekday.

The Incident: A Prohibited Ride

A gathering of around 40 individuals operating electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the bridge’s main deck, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The assembly subsequently reversed direction and rode through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

"This had a risk of serious injury or fatalities," remarked NSW police assistant commissioner David Driver on Wednesday.

Law enforcement indicated they did not immediately pursue the group out of concerns for public safety but rather found the assembly at a scenic Sydney lookout near the city gardens, at which point they broke up.

Fines Imposed for Influencer

Later in the week, authorities stated they had served the American online personality known as Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two violation tickets for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a fine of $562 and three demerit points each, in relation to the bridge incident. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing.

The personality is said to have more than 3.4m 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 this week following the event spread rapidly on news sites and social media, stating he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. It was one of the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he told the publication. "I’m coming here as a guest, and I intend to abide by the laws and norms of the city. When I decided to do a meet and greet it was not meant to include a ride-out, it was just to greet people near the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, I am to blame we found ourselves on the bridge and I had a decision to make: either the group rides the full length of the bridge and turns around, an illegal act. Or we turn around, basically, before entering the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to turn around."

National Debate on Electric Bike Rules

The spate of e-bikes on roads nationwide has sparked growing calls for regulation. A senior government official, Mark Butler, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Kids have done stupid things on bikes ever since the early bicycle [but] the injuries that are coming into our ERs are absolutely devastating," the minister said. "We must ensure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] police are given the authority to crack down, to take them away, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

NSW reported over two hundred injuries related to electric bikes in 2024. But, in the initial half of the following year, that figure jumped to 233 injuries plus four fatalities.