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NSW authorities have issued a fine against an US-based online influencer and handed out two traffic infringement notices for reported reckless operation after a large group of electric bicycle users converged on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak-hour traffic on a weekday.

The Incident: A Prohibited Ride

A gathering of approximately 40 people operating electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the bridge’s main deck, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The riders subsequently reversed direction and rode through the downtown area and Haymarket.

"There was a risk of people to be injured and killed," stated NSW police assistant commissioner the officer on the following day.

Law enforcement indicated they did not chase right away the group due to safety concerns but instead located the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the city gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

Later in the week, authorities announced they had issued the American online personality who goes by Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two violation tickets for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a fine of over five hundred dollars and three demerit points each, connected to the bridge incident. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing.

The personality reportedly has more than 3.4m subscribers on one platform and over 1.2m on the social media app.

Influencer's Comments

The content creator gave comments to a local publication this week after the incident spread rapidly on news sites and social media, stating he regretted giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.

"I accept the blame. That was one of the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he said. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going to come here respecting the rules and standards of Sydney. So when I decided to do a meet and greet it was not meant to include a group ride, it was just to greet people under the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, I am to blame we found ourselves on the bridge and I had a decision to make: whether the group completes the entirety of the bridge and comes back, which is a crime. Or we turn around, essentially, before we’re on the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to turn around."

Broader Context on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of electric bicycles on streets across the country has prompted growing calls for regulation. The federal health minister, the minister, commented that illegal ebikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Kids have done reckless acts on bikes since the invention of the penny-farthing [but] the harm that are presenting at our hospital emergency departments are absolutely devastating," he stated. "We must ensure we stop these things entering the country [and] police are granted the powers to take strong action, to take them away, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

The state recorded over two hundred injuries related to electric bikes in the previous year. But, in the first seven months of 2025, that number surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four fatalities.