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NSW authorities have issued a fine against an US-based online influencer and handed out two traffic infringement notices for alleged reckless operation following a swarm of e-bike riders gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute on Tuesday.

The Incident: A Prohibited Ride

A gathering of approximately 40 individuals operating electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The riders subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

"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 concerns for public safety but rather found the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the city gardens, where they dispersed.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

On Saturday, police announced they had served the US social media influencer who goes by Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two violation tickets for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), with a penalty of $562 and three demerit points per notice, in relation to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing.

The influencer is said to have more than 3.4 million subscribers on one platform and over 1.2m on Instagram.

Influencer's Comments

The content creator gave comments to a local publication recently after the incident spread rapidly on digital platforms, saying he regretted giving "bike life" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was among the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he told the publication. "I am a visitor here, so I’m going to abide by the rules and standards of the city. 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’m unfamiliar with the city, I am to blame we ended up on the bridge and I had two choices: either the group completes the entirety of the bridge and comes back, which is a crime. Or we reverse, basically, before entering the bridge. I chose at the time to turn around."

Broader Context on E-Bike Regulation

The spate of e-bikes on streets across the country has prompted growing calls for regulation. A senior government official, Mark Butler, commented 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 coming into our ERs are truly severe," he stated. "We’ve got to make sure we prevent these things entering the country [and] police are given the powers to crack down, to take them away, to crush them, to dispose of them."

NSW reported 226 injuries associated with ebikes in 2024. But, in the initial half of 2025, that number surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four fatalities.