US Social Media Personality Fined After Mass E-Bike Gathering on Sydney Harbour Bridge
New South Wales police have issued a fine against an US-based online influencer and handed out two driving violation citations for reported negligent driving following a swarm of electric bicycle users gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during the busy commute on Tuesday.
The Incident: A Prohibited Ride
A gathering of approximately 40 people operating e-bikes and motorcycles proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The riders then turned around and rode through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.
"There was a risk of people to be injured and killed," remarked NSW police assistant commissioner the officer on Wednesday.
Police indicated they did not immediately pursue the group out of concerns for public safety but rather found the assembly at a scenic Sydney lookout near the Botanic Gardens, at which point they broke up.
Penalties Issued for Influencer
On Saturday, police stated they had issued the US social media influencer who goes by the influencer, twenty-six, with two violation tickets for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a fine of $562 and penalty points per notice, connected to the bridge ride-out. They added that the investigation is ongoing.
The influencer reportedly has more than 3.4m followers on one platform and more than 1.2m on Instagram.
Creator's Response
The content creator gave comments to a major newspaper recently following the event spread rapidly on news sites and social media, saying he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.
"I accept the blame. It was among the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he said. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going to come here respecting the rules and standards of the city. When I decided to do a meet and greet 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: either the group completes the entirety of the bridge and comes back, an illegal act. Or we turn around, essentially, before entering the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to go back."
National Debate on E-Bike Regulation
The spate of electric bicycles on streets across the country has sparked increasing demands for stricter rules. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, commented that illegal ebikes were a "complete hazard on the road."
"Young people have engaged in stupid things on bikes ever since the early bicycle [but] the harm that are coming into our ERs are absolutely devastating," the minister stated. "We must ensure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] police are given the powers to take strong action, to take them away, to destroy them, to destroy them."
NSW reported 226 injuries related to electric bikes in the previous year. However, in the initial half of 2025, that number jumped to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four fatalities.