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

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A group of around 40 individuals operating electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the bridge’s main deck, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The assembly then turned around and traveled through the city’s CBD and a nearby district.

"This had a risk of serious injury or fatalities," stated a senior police official the officer on the following day.

Law enforcement indicated they did not immediately pursue the riders due to concerns for public safety but rather found the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

Later in the week, authorities announced they had issued the American online personality known as Sur Ronster, 26, with two violation tickets for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), with a penalty of over five hundred dollars and three demerit points per notice, connected to the bridge incident. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing.

The personality is said to have more than 3.4m subscribers on one platform and more than 1.2m on the social media app.

Creator's Response

The online figure spoke with a local publication this week after the incident gained traction on digital platforms, saying he regretted giving "bike life" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. It was one of the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he said. "I am a visitor here, and I intend 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 ride-out, 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, an illegal act. Or we turn around, basically, before we’re on the bridge. I chose at the time to turn around."

National Debate on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of electric bicycles on streets across the country has sparked growing calls for stricter rules. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Kids have done reckless acts on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are coming into our hospital emergency departments are absolutely devastating," the minister said. "We’ve got to ensure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] officers are granted the authority to crack down, to take them away, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

The state reported over two hundred injuries associated with ebikes in 2024. However, in the initial half of 2025, that number surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four fatalities.