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New South Wales authorities have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and handed out two traffic infringement notices for reported reckless operation following a large group of e-bike riders converged on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute on a weekday.

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A gathering of approximately 40 individuals riding electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The riders then turned around and rode through the city’s CBD and a nearby district.

"This had potential for people to be injured and killed," stated NSW police assistant commissioner David Driver on the following day.

Law enforcement said they did not chase right away the riders due to concerns for public safety but instead located the group at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the city gardens, where they dispersed.

Fines Imposed for Influencer

On Saturday, police announced they had issued the US social media influencer known as Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two violation tickets for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), with a fine of over five hundred dollars and penalty points each, in relation to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

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

Creator's Response

The online figure gave comments to a major newspaper recently following the event spread rapidly on digital platforms, stating he was sorry for giving "bike life" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. It was one of the safest gatherings I’ve ever seen," he told the publication. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going to abide by the rules and standards of Sydney. 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 did not know the area well, I am to blame we found ourselves 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 we’re on 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 prompted growing calls for regulation. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, commented that illegal ebikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Kids have done stupid things on bikes ever since the early bicycle [but] the injuries that are coming into our hospital emergency departments are absolutely devastating," he said. "We must make sure we stop these things coming into the country [and] officers are granted the authority to crack down, to confiscate them, to crush them, to destroy them."

The state reported over two hundred injuries associated with ebikes in 2024. However, in the first seven months of the following year, that number jumped to 233 injuries plus four deaths.