🔗 Share this article

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

The Incident: A Prohibited Ride

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

"There was potential for people to be injured and killed," stated a senior police official the officer on Wednesday.

Law enforcement said they did not chase right away the group out of safety concerns but instead located the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the Botanic Gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

On Saturday, authorities stated they had served the US social media influencer who goes by Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), with a penalty of $562 and penalty points each, connected to the bridge incident. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing.

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

Creator's Response

The content creator spoke with a major newspaper this week after the incident spread rapidly on digital platforms, saying he regretted giving "bike life" a bad reputation.

"I accept the blame. It was among the safest gatherings I’ve ever seen," he said. "I am a visitor here, and I intend to abide by the laws and norms of the city. When I decided to do a meet and greet it did not involve a ride-out, it was just to greet people under the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, it was my fault we ended up on the bridge and I had two choices: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and comes back, an illegal act. Or we turn around, basically, before we’re on the bridge. I chose at the time to turn around."

National Debate on E-Bike Regulation

The increase of e-bikes on roads nationwide has sparked growing calls for stricter rules. A senior government official, the minister, 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 penny-farthing [but] the harm that are coming into our hospital emergency departments are absolutely devastating," he said. "We must make sure we stop these things coming into the country [and] officers are granted the powers to take strong action, to take them away, to destroy them, to destroy them."

NSW reported 226 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.