🔗 Share this article

NSW authorities have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and served two driving violation citations for alleged reckless operation after a large group of electric bicycle users gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute on Tuesday.

The Incident: A Prohibited Ride

A group of around 40 people riding e-bikes and motorcycles proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The riders then turned around and rode through the downtown area and Haymarket.

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

Law enforcement said they did not chase right away the group due to concerns for public safety but rather found the assembly at a scenic Sydney lookout near the city gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Content Creator

On Saturday, authorities announced they had issued the American online personality known as Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (with no death or previous bodily harm), with a penalty of $562 and three demerit points each, in relation to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

The personality is said to have over 3.4m subscribers on YouTube and over 1.2m on Instagram.

Creator's Response

The online figure spoke with a local publication this week following the event gained traction on news sites and social media, saying he regretted giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. It was among the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he said. "I’m coming here as a guest, and I intend to come here respecting the rules and standards of Sydney. When I decided to do a public meeting it was not meant to include a ride-out, it was just to say hi under the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, I am to blame we ended up on the bridge and I had two choices: either the group rides the full length of the bridge and comes back, which is a crime. Or we reverse, essentially, before entering the bridge. I chose at the time to go back."

National Debate on Electric Bike Rules

The spate of e-bikes on roads nationwide has prompted growing calls for regulation. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Young people have engaged in reckless acts on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are presenting at 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 crack down, to confiscate them, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

The state recorded 226 injuries associated with ebikes in 2024. But, in the initial half of the following year, that number surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.