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NSW authorities have issued a fine against an American social media personality and handed out two driving violation citations for reported negligent driving after a large group of electric bicycle users gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute on a weekday.

The Event: An Illegal Gathering

A group of around 40 individuals operating electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, where cycling is prohibited. The riders then turned around and rode through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

"This had potential for people to be injured and killed," remarked a senior police official David Driver on the following day.

Law enforcement said they did not immediately pursue the group due to safety concerns but instead located the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the city gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Content Creator

Later in the week, police announced they had issued the American online personality known as Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), with a penalty of over five hundred dollars and penalty points each, in relation to the bridge incident. They added that inquiries were continuing.

The personality is said to have more than 3.4 million followers on YouTube and more than 1.2 million on Instagram.

Creator's Response

The content creator spoke with a local publication recently after the incident spread rapidly on news sites and social media, stating 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, so I’m going to abide by the laws and norms of the city. So when I decided to do a public meeting it did not involve a group ride, it was just to greet people under the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, I am to blame we found ourselves on the bridge and I had a decision to make: either the group completes the entirety of the bridge and comes back, 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 streets across the country has prompted growing calls for regulation. A senior government official, Mark Butler, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Young people have engaged in reckless acts on bikes ever since the early bicycle [but] the injuries that are presenting at our ERs are truly severe," he said. "We’ve got to ensure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] officers are granted the authority to take strong action, to take them away, to destroy them, to destroy them."

NSW reported over two hundred injuries related to ebikes in the previous year. But, in the first seven months of 2025, that number surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.