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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 after a large group of e-bike riders gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on a weekday.

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A gathering of approximately 40 individuals riding electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the bridge’s main deck, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The assembly subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the downtown area and a nearby district.

"This had potential for people to be injured and killed," stated a senior police official the officer on the following day.

Law enforcement said they did not chase right away the group out of safety concerns but rather found the assembly at a scenic Sydney lookout near the city gardens, where they dispersed.

Penalties Issued for Content Creator

Later in the week, police stated they had served the American online personality known as the influencer, 26, with two violation tickets for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), with a fine of $562 and three demerit points per notice, connected to the bridge incident. They added that the investigation is ongoing.

The personality is said to have over 3.4 million followers on YouTube and over 1.2m on the social media app.

Creator's Response

The online figure gave comments to a local publication recently after the incident spread rapidly on news sites and social media, saying he regretted giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was one of the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he told the publication. "I am a visitor here, and I intend to come here respecting the laws and norms of the city. So when I decided to do a meet and greet it did not involve a ride-out, it was just to say hi under 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: either the group completes the entirety of the bridge and comes back, which is a crime. Or we turn around, basically, before entering the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to go back."

Broader Context on E-Bike Regulation

The spate of e-bikes on streets across the country has prompted growing calls for regulation. A senior government official, Mark Butler, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Young people have engaged in stupid things 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 must ensure we prevent these things entering the country [and] police are granted the powers to crack down, to confiscate them, to destroy them, to destroy them."

NSW recorded 226 injuries related to electric bikes in 2024. However, in the initial half of 2025, that figure surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four fatalities.