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NSW police have levied a penalty against an American social media personality and served two driving violation citations for reported reckless operation following a swarm of electric bicycle users gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute on Tuesday.

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A gathering of around 40 individuals operating electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The riders subsequently reversed direction and rode 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 Wednesday.

Police indicated they did not chase right away the group due to safety concerns but instead located the assembly at a scenic Sydney lookout near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed.

Fines Imposed for Influencer

On Saturday, police stated they had served the American online personality known as the influencer, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (with no death or previous bodily harm), carrying a fine of over five hundred dollars and penalty points each, connected to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

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

Creator's Response

The online figure spoke with a local publication recently after the incident spread rapidly on digital platforms, stating he regretted giving "the biking community" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. It was among 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. When I decided to do a meet and greet it was not meant to include a ride-out, it was just to greet people near the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, I am to blame 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. I chose at the time to turn around."

Broader Context on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of e-bikes on streets across the country has prompted increasing demands 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 coming into our ERs are absolutely devastating," he stated. "We must ensure we stop these things coming into the country [and] police are granted the authority to take strong action, to take them away, to crush them, to destroy them."

NSW reported 226 injuries associated with ebikes in the previous year. However, in the initial half of 2025, that number jumped to 233 injuries plus four deaths.