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

The Event: A Prohibited Ride

A group of around 40 people riding electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the bridge’s main deck, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The assembly then turned around and traveled through the downtown area and Haymarket.

"There was potential for serious injury or fatalities," stated NSW police assistant commissioner David Driver on the following day.

Police said they did not immediately pursue the group out of safety concerns 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 American online personality known as Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two violation tickets for careless operation (with no death or previous bodily harm), with a fine of over five hundred dollars and three demerit points each, connected to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing.

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

Creator's Response

The content creator spoke with a major newspaper recently after the incident gained traction on digital platforms, saying he was sorry for giving "bike life" a negative image.

"I accept the blame. It was among the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he said. "I am a visitor here, so I’m going to abide by 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 say hi 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 completes the entirety of the bridge and turns around, which is a crime. Or we reverse, essentially, before we’re on the bridge. I chose at the time to turn around."

National Debate on E-Bike Regulation

The increase of electric bicycles on streets across the country has prompted increasing demands for stricter rules. The federal health minister, the minister, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Young people have engaged in reckless acts on bikes ever since the early bicycle [but] the injuries that are presenting at our ERs are absolutely devastating," the minister stated. "We’ve got to ensure we stop these things coming into the country [and] officers are given the authority to crack down, to take them away, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

The state recorded 226 injuries associated with electric bikes in 2024. But, in the first seven months of 2025, that number jumped to 233 injuries plus four deaths.