American Social Media Influencer Fined After Mass E-Bike Ride on Sydney Harbour Bridge

New South Wales police have levied a penalty against an American social media personality and handed out two traffic infringement notices for reported reckless operation following a swarm of e-bike riders gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak-hour traffic on a weekday.

The Event: A Prohibited Ride

A gathering of approximately 40 people operating e-bikes and motorcycles proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, where cycling is prohibited. The assembly then turned around and traveled through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

"There was potential for people to be injured and killed," remarked NSW police assistant commissioner the officer on the following day.

Law enforcement indicated they did not immediately pursue the riders out of safety concerns but instead located the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the city gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

On Saturday, police stated they had served the American online personality who goes by the influencer, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a fine of $562 and penalty points per notice, connected to the bridge ride-out. They added that inquiries were continuing.

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

Influencer's Comments

The content creator spoke with a major newspaper recently following the event spread rapidly on news sites and social media, saying he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was among the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he said. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going to come here respecting the rules and standards of Sydney. When I decided to do a meet and greet it did not involve a ride-out, it was just to say hi under 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: either the group completes the entirety of the bridge and turns around, an illegal act. Or we turn around, basically, before we’re on the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to go back."

Broader Context on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of e-bikes on streets across the country has sparked increasing demands for regulation. A senior government official, Mark Butler, recently said that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Young people have engaged in stupid things on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are presenting at our hospital emergency departments are truly severe," he said. "We’ve got to make sure we stop these things entering the country [and] police are given the authority to take strong action, to confiscate them, to crush them, to destroy them."

NSW reported 226 injuries associated with electric bikes in 2024. But, in the initial half of the following year, that number jumped to 233 injuries plus four fatalities.