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NSW authorities have issued a fine against an US-based online influencer and handed out two traffic infringement notices for reported negligent driving following a large group of electric bicycle users gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute on a weekday.

The Event: A Prohibited Ride

A group of around 40 individuals riding electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The assembly subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the downtown area and a nearby district.

"There was potential for people to be injured and killed," remarked a senior police official David Driver on Wednesday.

Law enforcement indicated they did not chase right away the group out of concerns for public safety but instead located the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed.

Fines Imposed for Influencer

On Saturday, authorities announced they had issued the American online personality who goes by Sur Ronster, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (with no death or previous bodily harm), with a penalty of over five hundred dollars and penalty points each, in relation to the bridge ride-out. They added that the investigation is ongoing.

The personality reportedly has over 3.4 million subscribers on one platform and more than 1.2 million on the social media app.

Creator's Response

The content creator gave comments to a local publication this week following the event spread rapidly on digital platforms, saying he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was one of the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he told the publication. "I am a visitor here, and I intend to abide by the rules and standards of Sydney. So when I decided to do a meet and greet 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 found ourselves on the bridge and I had two choices: either the group rides the full length of the bridge and turns around, which is a crime. Or we turn around, essentially, before entering the bridge. I chose at the time to go back."

Broader Context on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of electric bicycles on streets across the country has sparked 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 injuries that are presenting at our ERs are truly severe," the minister said. "We must ensure we prevent these things entering the country [and] police are granted the authority to take strong action, to confiscate them, to crush them, to destroy them."

The state reported over two hundred injuries associated with ebikes in the previous year. However, in the initial half of the following year, that number surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.