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NSW police have issued a fine against an American social media personality and served two traffic infringement notices for reported reckless operation after a large group of e-bike riders gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak-hour traffic on a weekday.

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A gathering of approximately 40 people riding electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the bridge’s main deck, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The riders then turned around and rode through the city’s CBD and a nearby district.

"This had a risk of people to be injured and killed," stated NSW police assistant commissioner the officer on the following day.

Police indicated they did not chase right away the riders out of concerns for public safety but instead located the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the Botanic Gardens, at which point they broke up.

Fines Imposed for Influencer

Later in the week, authorities announced they had issued the US social media influencer known as the influencer, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (with no death or previous bodily harm), carrying a penalty of $562 and three demerit points per notice, connected to the bridge incident. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing.

The personality reportedly has more than 3.4m subscribers on one platform and over 1.2 million on the social media app.

Creator's Response

The content creator spoke with a major newspaper this week following the event gained traction on digital platforms, saying he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.

"I accept the blame. It was one of the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he said. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going to come here respecting the laws and norms of the city. When I decided to do a public meeting it was not meant to include a ride-out, it was just to say hi under the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, it was my fault we ended up on the bridge and I had two choices: 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."

National Debate on E-Bike Regulation

The spate of electric bicycles on roads nationwide has sparked increasing demands for regulation. A senior government official, the minister, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "complete hazard on the road."

"Kids have done stupid things on bikes since the invention of the penny-farthing [but] the harm that are coming into our ERs are absolutely devastating," he stated. "We must make sure we prevent these things entering the country [and] police are granted the authority to take strong action, to take them away, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

NSW recorded over two hundred injuries related to electric bikes in the previous year. However, in the initial half of the following year, that figure jumped to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.