🔗 Share this article

NSW police have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and handed out two traffic infringement notices for alleged negligent driving following a swarm of electric bicycle users gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak-hour traffic on a weekday.

The Event: An Illegal Gathering

A gathering of around 40 individuals riding electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded 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 Haymarket.

"There was a risk of people to be injured and killed," remarked NSW police assistant commissioner the officer on the following day.

Police indicated they did not chase right away the riders out of safety concerns but rather found the group at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed.

Fines Imposed for Content Creator

Later in the week, authorities announced they had served the American online personality who goes by Sur Ronster, 26, with two violation tickets for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), with a penalty of $562 and three demerit points per notice, connected to the bridge incident. They added that inquiries were continuing.

The influencer is said to have over 3.4m subscribers on one platform and over 1.2 million on the social media app.

Influencer's Comments

The content creator gave comments to a major newspaper recently following the event gained traction on news sites and social media, stating he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a negative image.

"I accept the blame. 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 laws and norms of Sydney. When I decided to do a meet and greet it was not meant to include a group ride, it was just to say hi near the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, I am to blame we ended up on the bridge and I had two choices: either 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 electric bicycles on roads nationwide has prompted growing calls for stricter rules. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Kids have done reckless acts on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are coming into our ERs are truly severe," the minister said. "We must make sure we stop these things coming into the country [and] police are granted the authority to crack down, to take them away, to crush them, to dispose of them."

NSW recorded over two hundred injuries related to electric bikes in 2024. However, in the first seven months of the following year, that number surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.