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New South Wales police have issued a fine against an US-based online influencer and served two traffic infringement notices for reported reckless operation following a swarm of e-bike riders gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on a weekday.

The Event: A Prohibited Ride

A gathering of around 40 individuals 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 downtown area and a nearby district.

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

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

Fines Imposed for Influencer

On Saturday, police announced they had served the US social media influencer known as Sur Ronster, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (with no death or previous bodily harm), carrying a fine of $562 and three demerit points per notice, in relation to the bridge incident. They added that the investigation is ongoing.

The influencer reportedly has over 3.4m subscribers on one platform and more than 1.2 million on Instagram.

Creator's Response

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

"I accept the blame. That was among the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he said. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going to abide by the rules and standards of the city. 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 ended up on the bridge and I had a decision to make: whether the group completes the entirety of the bridge and turns around, an illegal act. Or we turn around, essentially, before entering the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to turn around."

Broader Context on E-Bike Regulation

The increase of e-bikes on roads nationwide has prompted increasing demands for regulation. The federal health minister, the minister, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Young people have engaged in reckless acts on bikes since the invention of the early bicycle [but] the injuries that are presenting at our ERs are absolutely devastating," the minister stated. "We’ve got to make sure we prevent these things entering the country [and] police are given the authority to take strong action, to confiscate them, to crush them, to destroy them."

NSW recorded 226 injuries related to electric bikes in the previous year. But, in the first seven months of the following year, that figure jumped to 233 injuries plus four fatalities.