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NSW authorities have levied a penalty against an American social media personality and handed out two traffic infringement notices for alleged negligent driving following a swarm of electric bicycle users converged on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute on a weekday.

The Event: A Prohibited Ride

A group of approximately 40 individuals operating electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, where cycling is prohibited. The riders subsequently reversed direction and rode through the downtown area and Haymarket.

"There was potential for people to be injured and killed," remarked a senior police official David Driver on Wednesday.

Police indicated they did not immediately pursue the group due to safety concerns but rather found the group at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed.

Penalties Issued for Content Creator

Later in the week, police stated they had issued the American online personality who goes by Sur Ronster, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (with no death or previous bodily harm), with a fine of $562 and three demerit points per notice, in relation to the bridge incident. They added that the investigation is ongoing.

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

Creator's Response

The online figure spoke with a local publication recently after the incident spread rapidly on digital platforms, saying he was sorry for giving "bike life" a bad reputation.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was one of the safest gatherings I’ve ever seen," he said. "I am a visitor here, and I intend 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 near the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, it was my fault we ended up on the bridge and I had two choices: whether the group completes the entirety of the bridge and turns around, 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 increase of electric bicycles on streets across the country has prompted increasing demands for stricter rules. 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 early bicycle [but] the harm that are presenting at our hospital emergency departments are absolutely devastating," he said. "We’ve got to make sure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] officers are granted the powers to take strong action, to take them away, to destroy them, to destroy them."

The state recorded 226 injuries associated with ebikes in 2024. But, in the initial half of the following year, that figure jumped to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.