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New South Wales police have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and served two traffic infringement notices for reported reckless operation after 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 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 subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the downtown area and a nearby district.

"This had a risk of people to be injured and killed," remarked NSW police assistant commissioner David Driver on Wednesday.

Law enforcement said they did not immediately pursue the riders out of safety concerns but rather found the group at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the city gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Content Creator

Later in the week, authorities announced they had issued the US social media influencer who goes by Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two violation tickets for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a fine of $562 and three demerit points each, in relation to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

The influencer reportedly has over 3.4 million followers on YouTube and over 1.2m on the social media app.

Creator's Response

The online figure gave comments to a major newspaper recently following the event spread rapidly on digital platforms, saying he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. It was among the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he said. "I am a visitor here, and I intend to abide by the rules and standards of Sydney. When I decided to do a public meeting it did not involve a group ride, it was just to say hi near the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, I am to blame we found ourselves on the bridge and I had two choices: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and turns around, an illegal act. Or we turn around, essentially, before we’re on the bridge. I chose at the time to go back."

Broader Context on E-Bike Regulation

The increase of e-bikes on roads nationwide has sparked increasing demands for stricter rules. A senior government official, the minister, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Young people have engaged in stupid things on bikes since the invention of the early bicycle [but] the injuries that are presenting at our hospital emergency departments are absolutely devastating," he said. "We’ve got to make sure we prevent these things entering the country [and] police are granted the authority to crack down, to confiscate them, to crush them, to destroy them."

NSW reported 226 injuries related to electric bikes in the previous year. However, in the initial half of the following year, that number jumped to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four fatalities.