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NSW police have issued a fine against an US-based online influencer and handed out two traffic infringement notices for alleged reckless operation following a swarm of electric bicycle users gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday.

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A gathering of approximately 40 people operating e-bikes and motorcycles travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The riders then turned around and traveled through the downtown area and Haymarket.

"There was potential for serious injury or fatalities," stated NSW police assistant commissioner the officer on Wednesday.

Police indicated they did not chase right away the riders out of concerns for public safety but rather found the assembly at a scenic Sydney lookout near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed.

Fines Imposed for Content Creator

On Saturday, authorities stated they had served the US social media influencer who goes by Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two violation tickets for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), with a fine of $562 and three demerit points per notice, connected to the bridge incident. They added that the investigation is ongoing.

The personality reportedly has over 3.4m followers on one platform and over 1.2 million on Instagram.

Influencer's Comments

The content creator spoke with a local publication recently following the event 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 was not meant to include a group ride, 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 turns around, 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 roads nationwide has sparked growing calls for regulation. A senior government official, Mark Butler, 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 presenting at our ERs are absolutely devastating," he said. "We’ve got to make sure we stop these things entering the country [and] police are granted the powers to crack down, to take them away, to destroy them, to destroy them."

NSW reported 226 injuries related to ebikes in the previous year. However, in the initial half of the following year, that number surged to 233 injuries plus four fatalities.