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

The Incident: A Prohibited Ride

A gathering of approximately 40 individuals 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 rode through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

"There was potential for people to be injured and killed," stated NSW police assistant commissioner David Driver on Wednesday.

Law enforcement said they did not immediately pursue the group out of 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

Later in the week, authorities stated they had served the American online personality who goes by Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (with no death or previous bodily harm), carrying a fine of over five hundred dollars and three demerit points each, in relation to the bridge ride-out. They added that inquiries were continuing.

The personality reportedly has over 3.4m subscribers on YouTube and more than 1.2 million on Instagram.

Creator's Response

The online figure spoke with a local publication this week following the event spread rapidly on digital platforms, stating he was sorry for giving "bike life" a bad reputation.

"I accept the blame. It was one of the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he said. "I’m coming here as a guest, and I intend to come here respecting the laws and norms of Sydney. When I decided to do a meet and greet it was not meant to include a group ride, it was just to say hi under the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, I am to blame we ended up on the bridge and I had a decision to make: whether the group completes the entirety of the bridge and comes back, an illegal act. Or we reverse, basically, before we’re on the bridge. I chose at the time to go back."

National Debate on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of e-bikes on streets across the country has prompted growing calls for stricter rules. A senior government official, the minister, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Young people have engaged in stupid things on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are presenting at our hospital emergency departments are truly severe," the minister stated. "We’ve got to ensure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] police are given the authority to crack down, to take them away, to crush them, to dispose of them."

NSW reported over two hundred injuries associated with ebikes in 2024. However, in the first seven months of 2025, that figure surged to 233 injuries plus four fatalities.