🔗 Share this article

NSW police have levied a penalty against an American social media personality and handed out two driving violation citations for alleged negligent driving following a swarm of e-bike riders converged on the famous Sydney landmark during the busy commute on Tuesday.

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A gathering of around 40 individuals operating e-bikes and motorcycles proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The assembly subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the city’s CBD and a nearby district.

"This had potential for 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 due to safety concerns but instead located the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the Botanic Gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Content Creator

On Saturday, police announced they had issued the American online personality who goes by Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), with a fine of $562 and three demerit points each, connected to the bridge incident. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing.

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

Creator's Response

The online figure gave comments to a major newspaper this week after the incident gained traction on digital platforms, 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 said. "I am a visitor here, and I intend to abide by the laws and norms of the city. When I decided to do a meet and greet it did not involve a group ride, it was just to greet people under the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, it was my fault we ended up on the bridge and I had a decision to make: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and comes back, an illegal act. Or we reverse, essentially, before entering the bridge. I chose at the time to go back."

Broader Context on Electric Bike Rules

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

"Young people have engaged in reckless acts on bikes ever since the early bicycle [but] the injuries that are coming into our ERs are truly severe," the minister said. "We must ensure we stop these things entering the country [and] police are given the powers to take strong action, to confiscate them, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

The state recorded over two hundred injuries related to ebikes in 2024. But, in the first seven months of the following year, that figure jumped to 233 injuries plus four deaths.