🔗 Share this article

New South Wales authorities have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and handed out two traffic infringement notices for reported reckless operation following a large group of electric bicycle users gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute 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 subsequently reversed direction and rode through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

"This had a risk of serious injury or fatalities," remarked a senior police official David Driver on Wednesday.

Police said they did not chase right away the riders due to safety concerns but rather found the group at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

Later in the week, police announced they had served the US social media influencer known as Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (with no death or previous bodily harm), with a fine of $562 and three demerit points each, connected to the bridge ride-out. They added that inquiries were continuing.

The personality reportedly has over 3.4 million subscribers on one platform and over 1.2m on the social media app.

Creator's Response

The content creator gave comments to a local publication this week after the incident gained traction on digital platforms, stating he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. It was one of the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he told the publication. "I’m coming here as a guest, and I intend to come here respecting the rules and standards of the city. So when I decided to do a public meeting it did not involve a group ride, it was just to greet people under the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, I am to blame we ended up on the bridge and I had two choices: whether the group completes the entirety of the bridge and comes back, an illegal act. Or we turn around, basically, before we’re on the bridge. I chose at the time to go back."

Broader Context on E-Bike Regulation

The increase of e-bikes on roads nationwide has sparked growing calls for stricter rules. A senior government official, Mark Butler, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "complete hazard 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 hospital emergency departments are absolutely devastating," the minister said. "We’ve got to make sure we stop these things entering the country [and] officers are granted the authority to take strong action, 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 the following year, that figure jumped to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.