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New South Wales authorities have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and handed out two driving violation citations for reported reckless operation following a swarm of e-bike riders gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak-hour traffic on a weekday.

The Event: A Prohibited Ride

A gathering of around 40 people operating electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, where cycling is prohibited. The riders subsequently reversed direction and rode through the downtown area and a nearby district.

"This had a risk of serious injury or fatalities," remarked a senior police official David Driver on Wednesday.

Law enforcement said they did not chase right away the riders due to safety concerns but rather found the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the Botanic Gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

On Saturday, police announced they had issued the US social media influencer known as Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (with no death or previous bodily harm), carrying a fine of $562 and penalty points per notice, connected to the bridge incident. They added that inquiries were continuing.

The personality is said to have over 3.4m followers on one platform and over 1.2m on Instagram.

Influencer's Comments

The online figure spoke with a major newspaper recently following the event spread rapidly on digital platforms, saying he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.

"I accept the blame. It was one of the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he told the publication. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going to abide by the rules and standards of the city. So when I decided to do a public meeting it was not meant to include a group ride, it was just to say hi under the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, 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 reverse, essentially, before we’re on the bridge. I chose at the time to go back."

Broader Context on E-Bike Regulation

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

"Kids have done reckless acts on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the harm that are presenting at our hospital emergency departments are truly severe," he 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 crush them, to dispose of them."

NSW reported over two hundred injuries associated with electric bikes in 2024. But, in the first seven months of the following year, that number jumped to 233 injuries plus four deaths.