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New South Wales police have issued a fine against an US-based online influencer and handed out two traffic infringement notices for alleged negligent driving after a swarm of e-bike riders gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday.

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A group of around 40 individuals riding electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, where cycling is prohibited. The riders then turned around and traveled through the city’s CBD and a nearby district.

"This had a risk of serious injury or fatalities," stated a senior police official the officer on Wednesday.

Police indicated they did not chase right away the riders due to safety concerns but rather found the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the Botanic Gardens, at which point they broke up.

Fines Imposed for Content Creator

Later in the week, police announced they had issued the US social media influencer known as the influencer, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a penalty of $562 and penalty points per notice, in relation to the bridge incident. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

The influencer is said to have more than 3.4m followers on one platform and more than 1.2 million on the social media app.

Creator's Response

The content creator spoke with a local publication this week following the event spread rapidly 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 told the publication. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going to abide by the rules and standards of Sydney. So when I decided to do a public meeting it did not involve a ride-out, 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 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 go back."

Broader Context on Electric Bike Rules

The spate of e-bikes on streets across the country has sparked growing calls for regulation. A senior government official, the minister, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Kids have done reckless acts on bikes since the invention of the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are coming into our ERs are absolutely devastating," the minister stated. "We must make sure we prevent these things entering the country [and] officers are granted the authority to take strong action, to confiscate them, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

NSW reported 226 injuries related to ebikes in 2024. However, in the first seven months of the following year, that number jumped to 233 injuries plus four fatalities.