🔗 Share this article

NSW authorities have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and handed out two driving violation citations for alleged negligent driving following a swarm of electric bicycle users converged on the famous Sydney landmark during the busy commute on a weekday.

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A group of approximately 40 individuals operating electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The assembly then turned around and traveled through the downtown area and a nearby district.

"This had potential for serious injury or fatalities," remarked NSW police assistant commissioner David Driver on the following day.

Police indicated they did not immediately pursue the riders out of safety concerns but rather found the assembly at a scenic Sydney lookout near the Botanic Gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

On Saturday, police announced they had issued the US social media influencer who goes by the influencer, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), with a fine of over five hundred dollars and penalty points each, in relation to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing.

The influencer reportedly has more than 3.4 million followers on one platform and over 1.2 million on the social media app.

Creator's Response

The content creator gave comments to a major newspaper this week following the event gained traction on news sites and social media, saying 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 said. "I am a visitor here, and I intend to come here respecting the laws and norms of the city. So when I decided to do a meet and greet it was not meant to include a ride-out, it was just to say hi under the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, I am to blame we found ourselves on the bridge and I had a decision to make: either 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."

Broader Context on E-Bike Regulation

The increase of electric bicycles on streets across the country has prompted growing calls for regulation. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Young people have engaged in stupid things on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are presenting at our hospital emergency departments are truly severe," the minister said. "We must ensure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] officers are given the powers to crack down, to take them away, to crush them, to dispose of them."

NSW recorded over two hundred injuries associated with ebikes in 2024. However, in the initial half of 2025, that figure surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.