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NSW authorities have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and served two traffic infringement notices for alleged reckless operation after a large group of e-bike riders gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during the busy commute on Tuesday.

The Event: An Illegal Gathering

A gathering of around 40 individuals operating e-bikes and motorcycles travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, where cycling is prohibited. The riders subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the downtown area and Haymarket.

"There was a risk of serious injury or fatalities," remarked NSW police assistant commissioner David Driver on Wednesday.

Police indicated 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

Later in the week, police announced they had issued the US social media influencer known as the influencer, 26, 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, connected to the bridge incident. They added that inquiries were continuing.

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

Influencer's Comments

The content creator spoke with a local publication recently after the incident spread rapidly on digital platforms, stating he regretted giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was among the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he told the publication. "I’m coming here as a guest, and I intend to abide by the rules and standards of Sydney. 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 did not know the area well, I am to blame we ended up on the bridge and I had two choices: either the group completes the entirety of the bridge and comes back, an illegal act. Or we reverse, basically, before entering the bridge. I chose at the time to turn around."

National Debate on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of electric bicycles on streets across the country has sparked increasing demands for regulation. A senior government official, the minister, recently said that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Young people have engaged in stupid things on bikes since the invention of the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are presenting at our hospital emergency departments are truly severe," he said. "We must ensure we stop these things coming into the country [and] officers are given the authority to take strong action, to take them away, to destroy them, to destroy them."

The state recorded over two hundred injuries associated with electric bikes in 2024. But, in the first seven months of 2025, that number jumped to 233 injuries plus four fatalities.