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NSW authorities have issued a fine against an US-based online influencer and handed out two traffic infringement notices for reported reckless operation following 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 approximately 40 people operating e-bikes and motorcycles proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, 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 David Driver on the following day.

Law enforcement indicated they did not chase right away the group out of safety concerns but instead located the group at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the city gardens, where they dispersed.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

On Saturday, police announced they had served the US social media influencer known as the influencer, 26, with two violation tickets for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), with a fine of $562 and three demerit points each, connected to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

The influencer is said to have more than 3.4m followers on one platform and over 1.2 million on Instagram.

Creator's Response

The content creator spoke with a local publication this week following the event gained traction on news sites and social media, stating he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That 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. When I decided to do a meet and greet it was not meant to include a group ride, it was just to say hi under the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, 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, which is a crime. Or we reverse, essentially, before entering the bridge. I chose at the time to turn around."

National Debate on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of electric bicycles on roads nationwide has sparked increasing demands for regulation. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Kids have done reckless acts on bikes since the invention of the penny-farthing [but] the harm that are presenting at our ERs are absolutely devastating," the minister said. "We’ve got to ensure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] police are given the powers to take strong action, to take them away, to crush them, to dispose of them."

The state recorded 226 injuries associated with ebikes in 2024. But, in the initial half of the following year, that number jumped to 233 injuries plus four fatalities.