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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 negligent driving following a large group of electric bicycle users converged on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday.

The Event: An Illegal Gathering

A gathering of around 40 individuals riding e-bikes and motorcycles travelled along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The riders then turned around and rode through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

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

Police indicated they did not chase right away the riders out of safety concerns but instead located the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the Botanic Gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

On Saturday, police stated they had served the US social media influencer known as Sur Ronster, 26, with two violation tickets for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a penalty of over five hundred dollars and three demerit points per notice, in relation to the bridge incident. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

The personality reportedly has more than 3.4m followers on YouTube and over 1.2m on the social media app.

Creator's Response

The online figure gave comments to a major newspaper recently following the event spread rapidly on news sites and social media, stating he was sorry for giving "bike life" a bad reputation.

"I accept the blame. That was among the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he said. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going to abide by the laws and norms 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 did not know the area well, I am to blame we ended up on the bridge and I had two choices: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and turns around, an illegal act. Or we turn around, essentially, before entering the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to go back."

National Debate on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of e-bikes on streets across the country has sparked growing calls for regulation. A senior government official, the minister, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Kids have done stupid things on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are presenting at our ERs are truly severe," he said. "We’ve got to ensure we stop these things coming into the country [and] police are given the authority to crack down, to confiscate them, to crush them, to dispose of them."

The state recorded over two hundred injuries related to electric bikes in 2024. But, in the first seven months of 2025, that number surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four fatalities.