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NSW authorities have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and handed out two traffic infringement notices for reported negligent driving after a large group of e-bike riders converged on the famous Sydney landmark during the busy commute on a weekday.

The Event: A Prohibited Ride

A group of approximately 40 people riding electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the bridge’s main deck, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The riders subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

"This had potential for people to be injured and killed," stated NSW police assistant commissioner the officer on the following day.

Law enforcement indicated they did not immediately pursue the group out of concerns for public safety but rather found the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the Botanic Gardens, at which point they broke up.

Fines Imposed for Content Creator

Later in the week, police announced they had served the American online personality who goes by 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 penalty points per notice, connected to the bridge ride-out. They added that the investigation is ongoing.

The influencer reportedly has more than 3.4m subscribers on one platform and over 1.2 million on Instagram.

Influencer's Comments

The content creator spoke with a local publication recently following the event spread rapidly on digital platforms, saying he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. It was among the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he said. "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 did not involve a group ride, it was just to say hi near the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, it was my fault we found ourselves on the bridge and I had two choices: either the group completes the entirety of the bridge and turns around, which is a crime. Or we reverse, essentially, before we’re on the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to turn around."

Broader Context on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of e-bikes on streets across the country has sparked increasing demands 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 stupid things on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are presenting at our hospital emergency departments are truly severe," he stated. "We must ensure we prevent these things entering the country [and] officers are given the powers to take strong action, to take them away, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

The state reported over two hundred injuries related to ebikes in the previous year. But, in the first seven months of the following year, that number jumped to 233 injuries plus four fatalities.