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NSW police have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and handed out two driving violation citations for reported reckless operation after a large group of electric bicycle users converged on the famous Sydney landmark 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 bridge’s main deck, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The riders subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

"There was potential for people to be injured and killed," stated NSW police assistant commissioner the officer on Wednesday.

Police indicated they did not immediately pursue the riders out of safety concerns but instead located the assembly at a scenic Sydney lookout near the city gardens, where they dispersed.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

Later in the week, authorities stated they had issued the US social media influencer known as the influencer, 26, with two violation tickets for negligent driving (with no death or previous bodily harm), carrying a penalty of $562 and three demerit points each, in relation to the bridge ride-out. They added that inquiries were continuing.

The personality reportedly has over 3.4 million followers on YouTube and more than 1.2m on Instagram.

Creator's Response

The online figure spoke with a local publication this week after the incident spread rapidly on news sites and social media, stating he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.

"I accept the blame. That was one of the safest gatherings I’ve ever seen," he said. "I am a visitor here, so I’m going to come here respecting the rules and standards of Sydney. So when I decided to do a public meeting 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 two choices: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and turns around, which is a crime. Or we turn around, basically, before entering the bridge. I chose at the time to go back."

National Debate on E-Bike Regulation

The spate of e-bikes on streets across the country has prompted increasing demands for regulation. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "complete hazard 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 ensure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] police are given the authority to crack down, to take them away, to crush them, to dispose of them."

The state reported over two hundred injuries associated with electric bikes in 2024. However, in the initial half of the following year, that figure surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four fatalities.