🔗 Share this article

New South Wales authorities have issued a fine against an US-based online influencer and handed out two driving violation citations for alleged reckless operation after a large group of e-bike riders gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday.

The Event: A Prohibited Ride

A group of approximately 40 people operating electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The riders 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.

Police indicated they did not immediately pursue the riders out of safety concerns but instead located the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the Botanic Gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Content Creator

Later in the week, authorities announced they had served the American online personality who goes by the influencer, twenty-six, with two violation tickets for careless operation (with no death or previous bodily harm), with a fine of $562 and three demerit points per notice, in relation to the bridge incident. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

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

Influencer's Comments

The content creator spoke with a major newspaper recently following the event gained traction on news sites and social media, saying he regretted giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was among the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he said. "I am a visitor here, and I intend to abide by the rules and standards of Sydney. So when I decided to do a meet and greet it was not meant to include a group ride, it was just to say hi under the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, I am to blame we ended up on the bridge and I had a decision to make: whether the group completes the entirety of the bridge and turns around, an illegal act. Or we turn around, essentially, before entering the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to turn around."

National Debate on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of e-bikes on roads nationwide has sparked growing calls for regulation. A senior government official, the minister, commented that illegal ebikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Young people have engaged in stupid things on bikes since the invention of the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are presenting at our hospital emergency departments are absolutely devastating," he stated. "We must ensure we stop these things coming into the country [and] officers are granted the authority to crack down, to take them away, to destroy them, to destroy them."

NSW reported over two hundred injuries associated with ebikes in the previous year. But, in the initial half of 2025, that number surged to 233 injuries plus four deaths.