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NSW authorities have levied a penalty against an American social media personality and handed out two driving violation citations for alleged reckless operation following a swarm of electric bicycle users gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute on a weekday.

The Event: An Illegal Gathering

A group of around 40 individuals riding electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The assembly then turned around and traveled through the downtown area and Haymarket.

"There was a risk of serious injury or fatalities," stated NSW police assistant commissioner David Driver on the following day.

Law enforcement said they did not immediately pursue the group out of concerns for public safety but instead located the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the city gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

On Saturday, police stated they had issued the US social media influencer who goes by the influencer, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a penalty of over five hundred dollars and penalty points each, connected to the bridge ride-out. They added that the investigation is ongoing.

The personality reportedly has over 3.4m followers on YouTube and over 1.2 million on Instagram.

Influencer's Comments

The online figure gave comments to a major newspaper this week following the event gained traction on news sites and social media, saying he regretted giving "bike life" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. It was among the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he said. "I’m coming here as a guest, and I intend to come here respecting the laws and norms 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 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 completes the entirety of the bridge and comes back, an illegal act. Or we turn around, essentially, before we’re on the bridge. I chose at the time to go back."

Broader Context on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of e-bikes on roads nationwide has prompted growing calls for stricter rules. A senior government official, Mark Butler, commented that illegal ebikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Kids have done stupid things on bikes since the invention of the early bicycle [but] the harm that are presenting at our hospital emergency departments are absolutely devastating," he said. "We must ensure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] officers are given the powers to take strong action, to take them away, to destroy them, to destroy them."

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