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NSW authorities have issued a fine against an US-based online influencer and served two driving violation citations for reported reckless operation following a large group of e-bike riders gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on a weekday.

The Event: An Illegal Gathering

A group of around 40 individuals riding e-bikes and motorcycles travelled along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The assembly subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

"There was potential for people to be injured and killed," stated a senior police official David Driver on Wednesday.

Police indicated they did not immediately pursue the riders out of concerns for public safety but rather found the group at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed.

Fines Imposed for Influencer

Later in the week, authorities stated they had issued the American online personality who goes by the influencer, 26, with two violation tickets for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a fine of over five hundred dollars and three demerit points each, in relation to the bridge ride-out. They added that the investigation is ongoing.

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

Influencer's Comments

The content creator gave comments to a local publication recently after the incident spread rapidly on digital platforms, saying he regretted giving "bike life" a bad reputation.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was among the safest gatherings I’ve ever seen," he said. "I’m coming here as a guest, and I intend to abide by the laws and norms of the city. When I decided to do a public meeting it did not involve a group ride, it was just to say hi under the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, I am to blame we ended up 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, basically, before we’re on the bridge. I chose at the time to go back."

National Debate on E-Bike Regulation

The increase of e-bikes on roads nationwide has sparked growing calls for regulation. A senior government official, the minister, recently said that non-compliant electric bikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Young people have engaged in reckless acts on bikes since the invention of the early bicycle [but] the harm that are presenting at our ERs are absolutely devastating," the minister stated. "We’ve got to make sure we stop these things coming into the country [and] officers are granted the authority to take strong action, to take them away, to crush them, to dispose of them."

The state recorded 226 injuries related to electric bikes in 2024. However, in the first seven months of 2025, that number surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four fatalities.