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NSW police have levied a penalty against an American social media personality and handed out two traffic infringement notices for reported reckless operation after a large group of e-bike riders gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during the busy commute on a weekday.

The Incident: A Prohibited Ride

A group of around 40 people riding e-bikes and motorcycles proceeded along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The assembly then turned around and traveled through the downtown area and Haymarket.

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

Police indicated they did not chase right away the riders due to 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 Content Creator

On Saturday, police announced they had issued the American online personality who goes by the influencer, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (with no death or previous bodily harm), with a penalty of over five hundred dollars and three demerit points each, in relation to the bridge incident. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

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

Influencer's Comments

The online figure gave comments to a local publication recently after the incident spread rapidly on news sites and social media, saying he was sorry for giving "bike life" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. It was one of the safest gatherings 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 did not involve a group ride, it was just to say hi under 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 completes the entirety of the bridge and comes back, an illegal act. Or we reverse, basically, before we’re on the bridge. I chose at the time to go back."

National Debate on Electric Bike Rules

The spate of e-bikes on roads nationwide has prompted growing calls for regulation. A senior government official, Mark Butler, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Kids have done stupid things on bikes since the invention of the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are coming into our ERs are absolutely devastating," he stated. "We’ve got to make sure we stop these things entering the country [and] officers are given the authority to crack down, to take them away, to crush them, to dispose of them."

NSW reported over two hundred injuries related to electric bikes in 2024. But, in the first seven months of 2025, that number jumped to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.