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NSW authorities have levied a penalty against an American social media personality and handed out two traffic infringement notices for alleged negligent driving after a large group of electric bicycle users gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday.

The Incident: A Prohibited Ride

A gathering of around 40 people riding electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The riders subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the city’s CBD and a nearby district.

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

Police said they did not immediately pursue the group due to concerns for public safety but rather found the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the city gardens, where they dispersed.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

On Saturday, police announced they had issued the American online personality who goes by the influencer, 26, with two violation tickets for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a fine of $562 and penalty points each, in relation to the bridge ride-out. They added that the investigation is ongoing.

The influencer reportedly has more than 3.4m subscribers on YouTube and over 1.2m 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 negative image.

"I accept the blame. That was among the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he said. "I am a visitor here, so I’m going to abide by the rules and standards of Sydney. So when I decided to do a public meeting 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 found ourselves on the bridge and I had two choices: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and turns around, an illegal act. Or we reverse, essentially, before we’re on the bridge. I chose at the time to go back."

National Debate on E-Bike Regulation

The spate of e-bikes on roads nationwide has sparked growing calls for regulation. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Kids have done stupid things on bikes since the invention of the penny-farthing [but] the harm that are presenting at our hospital emergency departments are absolutely devastating," he said. "We must ensure we stop these things entering the country [and] police are given the powers to crack down, to take them away, to destroy them, to destroy them."

NSW reported over two hundred injuries associated with ebikes in 2024. However, in the initial half of the following year, that number surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.