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NSW authorities have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and served two traffic infringement notices for reported negligent driving following a swarm of e-bike riders gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday.

The Incident: A Prohibited Ride

A gathering of around 40 people operating e-bikes and motorcycles travelled along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The riders subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

"There was a risk of serious injury or fatalities," stated NSW police assistant commissioner the officer on the following day.

Police said they did not immediately pursue the group out of safety concerns but rather found the group at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the city gardens, where they dispersed.

Penalties Issued for Content Creator

Later in the week, police announced they had issued the US social media influencer who goes by Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (with no death or previous bodily harm), with a penalty of $562 and penalty points each, connected to the bridge incident. They added that the investigation is ongoing.

The influencer reportedly has more than 3.4m followers on YouTube and more than 1.2 million on the social media app.

Creator's Response

The content creator gave comments to a major newspaper this week following the event spread rapidly on digital platforms, saying he regretted giving "bike life" a bad reputation.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. It was one of the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he told the publication. "I am a visitor here, and I intend to come here respecting the rules and standards of Sydney. So when I decided to do a meet and greet it was not meant to include a ride-out, it was just to greet people under the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, I am to blame we found ourselves on the bridge and I had a decision to make: either the group rides the full length of the bridge and comes back, which is a crime. Or we reverse, essentially, before we’re on the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to go back."

National Debate on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of electric bicycles on streets across the country has prompted increasing demands for regulation. A senior government official, Mark Butler, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Kids have done stupid things on bikes since the invention of the early bicycle [but] the injuries that are presenting at our ERs are absolutely devastating," he stated. "We must ensure we stop these things entering the country [and] police are granted the powers to take strong action, to take them away, to crush them, to dispose of them."

The state reported 226 injuries associated with ebikes in the previous year. However, in the first seven months of 2025, that figure jumped to 233 injuries plus four fatalities.