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NSW police have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and served two traffic infringement notices for alleged negligent driving following a swarm of electric bicycle users gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on a weekday.

The Event: A Prohibited Ride

A group of approximately 40 individuals riding electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The assembly subsequently reversed direction and rode through the downtown area and Haymarket.

"There was a risk of people to be injured and killed," stated NSW police assistant commissioner David Driver on the following day.

Law enforcement indicated they did not immediately pursue the riders due to safety concerns but rather found the group at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the Botanic Gardens, at which point they broke up.

Fines Imposed for Content Creator

Later in the week, authorities announced they had issued the American online personality who goes by the influencer, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (with no death or previous bodily harm), with a fine of over five hundred dollars and penalty points per notice, in relation to the bridge ride-out. They added that the investigation is ongoing.

The personality reportedly has more than 3.4 million followers on one platform and over 1.2 million on the social media app.

Influencer's Comments

The online figure spoke with a major newspaper this week after the incident gained traction on digital platforms, saying he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. It was among the safest gatherings I’ve ever seen," he said. "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 was not meant to include a group ride, it was just to greet people near the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, it was my fault we found ourselves on the bridge and I had a decision to make: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and turns around, an illegal act. Or we turn around, basically, before we’re on 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 growing calls for regulation. A senior government official, Mark Butler, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Kids have done stupid things on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the harm that are presenting at our ERs are truly severe," the minister stated. "We must ensure we stop these things coming into the country [and] police are granted the powers to take strong action, to confiscate them, to crush them, to dispose of them."

NSW recorded over two hundred injuries related to electric bikes in 2024. But, in the initial half of 2025, that figure jumped to 233 injuries plus four fatalities.