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NSW authorities have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and served two driving violation citations for reported reckless operation after a large group of e-bike riders converged on the famous Sydney landmark during the busy commute on Tuesday.

The Event: An Illegal Gathering

A gathering of around 40 people riding e-bikes and motorcycles travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The assembly subsequently reversed direction and rode through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

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

Police indicated they did not immediately pursue the group due to safety concerns but rather found the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the city gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

On Saturday, authorities announced they had issued the US social media influencer who goes by the influencer, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a fine of over five hundred dollars and three demerit points per notice, in relation to the bridge incident. They added that inquiries were continuing.

The influencer reportedly has over 3.4 million subscribers on YouTube and more than 1.2 million on the social media app.

Influencer's Comments

The online figure spoke with a major newspaper this week after the incident spread rapidly on news sites and social media, stating he regretted giving "bike life" a bad reputation.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was among the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he told the publication. "I’m coming here as a guest, and I intend to abide by the laws and norms 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 found ourselves on the bridge and I had a decision to make: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and turns around, which is a crime. Or we turn around, 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 roads nationwide has sparked growing calls for regulation. The federal health minister, the minister, recently said that non-compliant electric bikes 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 coming into our hospital emergency departments are absolutely devastating," the minister stated. "We must make sure we stop these things entering the country [and] officers are given the authority to take strong action, to confiscate them, to destroy them, to destroy them."

The state recorded 226 injuries related to ebikes in 2024. However, in the initial half of the following year, that number surged to 233 injuries plus four deaths.