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NSW police have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and served two driving violation citations for alleged reckless operation after a swarm of electric bicycle users gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak-hour traffic on a weekday.

The Event: A Prohibited Ride

A gathering of around 40 people riding electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The riders subsequently reversed direction and rode through the downtown area and Haymarket.

"This had a risk of people to be injured and killed," remarked a senior police official the officer on the following day.

Police indicated they did not chase right away the group out of concerns for public safety but rather found the group at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the city gardens, where they dispersed.

Fines Imposed for Content Creator

Later in the week, police stated they had issued the American online personality who goes by the influencer, twenty-six, with two violation tickets for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a penalty of over five hundred dollars and three demerit points each, connected to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing.

The influencer reportedly has more than 3.4m subscribers on one platform and more than 1.2 million on Instagram.

Influencer's Comments

The online figure spoke with a local publication this week following the event gained traction on digital platforms, stating he was sorry for giving "bike life" a negative image.

"I accept the blame. That was among the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he said. "I am a visitor here, so I’m going to come here respecting the laws and norms of Sydney. When I decided to do a public meeting it did not involve a ride-out, it was just to say hi near the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, it was my fault we found ourselves on the bridge and I had two choices: either the group rides the full length of the bridge and comes back, which is a crime. Or we turn around, essentially, before entering 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 increasing demands for regulation. A senior government official, Mark Butler, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Kids have done reckless acts on bikes since the invention of the penny-farthing [but] the harm that are coming into our hospital emergency departments are absolutely devastating," he 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."

NSW recorded over two hundred injuries associated with ebikes in the previous year. However, in the first seven months of 2025, that number jumped to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.