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NSW police have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and served two traffic infringement notices for alleged reckless operation following a swarm of e-bike riders converged on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday.

The Event: A Prohibited Ride

A group of approximately 40 people operating electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, where cycling is prohibited. The assembly subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the downtown area and Haymarket.

"There was potential for serious injury or fatalities," remarked a senior police official David Driver on Wednesday.

Police indicated they did not chase right away the riders out of safety concerns but rather found the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed.

Fines Imposed for Influencer

On Saturday, police stated 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), carrying a fine of $562 and three demerit points each, in relation to the bridge ride-out. They added that the investigation is ongoing.

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

Influencer's Comments

The content creator spoke with a major newspaper this week following the event spread rapidly on news sites and social media, saying he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was among the safest gatherings I’ve ever seen," he told the publication. "I am a visitor here, and I intend to come here respecting the laws and norms of the city. When I decided to do a public meeting it was not meant to include a ride-out, it was just to greet people 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 go back."

National Debate on Electric Bike Rules

The spate of e-bikes on streets across the country has prompted growing calls for stricter rules. The federal health minister, the minister, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Young people have engaged in stupid things on bikes since the invention of the early bicycle [but] the harm that are coming into our ERs are truly severe," the minister stated. "We must ensure we stop these things entering the country [and] police are granted the authority to take strong action, to take them away, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

The state reported 226 injuries associated with electric bikes in the previous year. But, in the first seven months of 2025, that number jumped to 233 injuries plus four deaths.