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New South Wales authorities have issued a fine against an American social media personality and served two traffic infringement notices for alleged reckless operation following a swarm of e-bike riders converged on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute on a weekday.

The Event: A Prohibited Ride

A group of approximately 40 people operating electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, where cycling is prohibited. The assembly then turned around and traveled through the city’s CBD and a nearby district.

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

Police said they did not chase right away the group out of concerns for public safety but instead located the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the city gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Content Creator

On Saturday, police stated they had issued the US social media influencer who goes by Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), with a fine of $562 and three demerit points per notice, in relation to the bridge incident. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

The influencer reportedly has more than 3.4m subscribers on one platform and more than 1.2 million on Instagram.

Influencer's Comments

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

"I’ll probably take responsibility. It was one of the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he said. "I am a visitor here, so I’m going to abide by 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 say hi under the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, I am to blame we found ourselves on the bridge and I had two choices: either 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. I chose at the time to turn around."

Broader Context on Electric Bike Rules

The spate of e-bikes on roads nationwide has prompted increasing demands for stricter rules. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, commented that illegal ebikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Young people have engaged in stupid things on bikes since the invention of the penny-farthing [but] the harm that are presenting at our hospital emergency departments are absolutely devastating," the minister stated. "We’ve got to ensure we stop these things coming into the country [and] police are granted the authority to take strong action, to take them away, to destroy them, to destroy them."

The state recorded over two hundred injuries associated with electric bikes in 2024. However, in the first seven months of the following year, that number jumped to 233 injuries plus four fatalities.