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New South Wales authorities 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 gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute on Tuesday.

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A group of approximately 40 individuals operating e-bikes and motorcycles travelled along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The riders subsequently reversed direction and rode through the downtown area and a nearby district.

"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 out of safety concerns but rather found the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair 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 the influencer, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a fine of over five hundred dollars and three demerit points per notice, connected to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

The influencer reportedly has over 3.4m subscribers on one platform and over 1.2 million on the social media app.

Influencer's Comments

The online figure spoke with a local publication recently after the incident spread rapidly on news sites and social media, saying he was sorry for giving "bike life" a negative image.

"I accept the blame. It was one of the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he said. "I am a visitor here, and I intend to come here respecting 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 did not know the area well, it was my fault we ended up on the bridge and I had a decision to make: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and turns around, which is a crime. Or we reverse, basically, before we’re on the bridge. I chose at the time to turn around."

Broader Context on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of e-bikes on streets across the country has sparked growing calls for regulation. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Young people have engaged in stupid things on bikes since the invention of the early bicycle [but] the harm that are coming into our ERs are absolutely devastating," he said. "We’ve got to make sure we stop these things entering the country [and] police are granted the powers to take strong action, to confiscate them, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

The state recorded 226 injuries related to electric bikes in 2024. However, in the first seven months of 2025, that figure surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.