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New South Wales police have issued a fine against an American social media personality and served two traffic infringement notices for reported negligent driving after a swarm of e-bike riders gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute on a weekday.

The Incident: A Prohibited Ride

A gathering of approximately 40 people riding e-bikes and motorcycles travelled along the bridge’s main deck, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The assembly subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the city’s CBD and a nearby district.

"This had a risk of people to be injured and killed," stated a senior police official the officer on the following day.

Law enforcement said they did not chase right away the group due to safety concerns but rather found the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the city gardens, where they dispersed.

Penalties Issued for Content Creator

On Saturday, police stated they had issued the US social media influencer known as Sur Ronster, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), with a fine of over five hundred dollars and penalty points each, connected to the bridge incident. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

The influencer is said to have over 3.4 million followers on YouTube and over 1.2m on the social media app.

Creator's Response

The content creator gave comments to a local publication this week after the incident spread rapidly on digital platforms, stating he regretted giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was among the safest gatherings I’ve ever seen," he told the publication. "I am a visitor here, so I’m going to come here respecting the rules and standards of the city. So when I decided to do a public meeting it did not involve a ride-out, it was just to say hi near the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, it was my fault we ended up on the bridge and I had a decision to make: either 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."

National Debate on E-Bike Regulation

The spate of e-bikes on roads nationwide has sparked growing calls for regulation. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Kids have done stupid things on bikes ever since the early bicycle [but] the injuries that are coming into our ERs are absolutely devastating," he said. "We’ve got to ensure we prevent these things entering the country [and] officers are given the authority to take strong action, to confiscate them, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

NSW recorded 226 injuries related to ebikes in 2024. But, in the initial half of the following year, that number jumped to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four fatalities.