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NSW police have issued a fine against an US-based online influencer and served two traffic infringement notices for alleged reckless operation after a large group of e-bike riders converged on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday.

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A gathering of approximately 40 people riding e-bikes and motorcycles travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The assembly subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the downtown area and a nearby district.

"There was a risk of 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 out of safety concerns but instead located the assembly at a scenic Sydney lookout near the Botanic Gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

On Saturday, police announced they had served the US social media influencer known as Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two violation tickets for negligent driving (with no death or previous bodily harm), with a fine of over five hundred dollars and penalty points each, in relation to the bridge incident. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

The influencer is said to have more than 3.4 million subscribers on YouTube and over 1.2 million on the social media app.

Creator's Response

The content creator spoke with a major newspaper recently after the incident spread rapidly on news sites and social media, stating he regretted giving "bike life" a negative image.

"I accept the blame. That was one of the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he said. "I am a visitor here, so I’m going 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 group ride, it was just to greet people under the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, it was my fault we found ourselves on the bridge and I had two choices: either the group completes the entirety of the bridge and turns around, which is a crime. Or we reverse, basically, before entering the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to go back."

Broader Context on E-Bike Regulation

The increase of e-bikes on roads nationwide has prompted growing calls for regulation. A senior government official, Mark Butler, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Young people have engaged in reckless acts on bikes since the invention of the early bicycle [but] the injuries that are presenting at our ERs are absolutely devastating," he said. "We must ensure we stop these things entering the country [and] police are granted the authority to crack down, to take them away, to crush them, to destroy them."

NSW reported 226 injuries associated with ebikes in 2024. But, in the first seven months of the following year, that number surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.