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New South Wales authorities have issued a fine against an US-based online influencer and handed out two driving violation citations for alleged reckless operation after a large group of e-bike riders gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during the busy commute on Tuesday.

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A group of approximately 40 individuals riding electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The assembly then turned around and traveled through the downtown area and a nearby district.

"This had potential for people to be injured and killed," stated a senior police official the officer on Wednesday.

Police said they did not immediately pursue 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

Later in the week, police announced they had served the American online personality who goes by Sur Ronster, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), with a fine of over five hundred dollars and penalty points per notice, in relation to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

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

Influencer's Comments

The content creator gave comments to a local publication this week following the event spread rapidly on digital platforms, stating he regretted giving "bike life" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was one of the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he told the publication. "I am a visitor here, so I’m going to come here respecting 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, it was my fault we found ourselves on the bridge and I had a decision to make: either the group rides the full length of the bridge and comes back, which is a crime. Or we reverse, essentially, before we’re on the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to go back."

Broader Context on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of e-bikes on roads nationwide has sparked increasing demands for stricter rules. A senior government official, the minister, recently said that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Young people have engaged in reckless acts on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are presenting at our hospital emergency departments are truly severe," the minister said. "We’ve got to make sure we stop these things entering the country [and] police are granted the authority to crack down, to confiscate them, to crush them, to destroy them."

NSW reported over two hundred injuries related to ebikes in 2024. But, in the initial half of 2025, that number surged to 233 injuries plus four fatalities.