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NSW authorities have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and handed out two traffic infringement notices for alleged reckless operation following a swarm of electric bicycle users converged on the famous Sydney landmark during the busy commute on Tuesday.

The Event: A Prohibited Ride

A group of approximately 40 people operating e-bikes and motorcycles travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The riders then turned around and traveled through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

"This had a risk of serious injury or fatalities," stated a senior police official the officer on the following day.

Police said they did not chase right away the group due to concerns for public safety but rather found the group at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the Botanic Gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

Later in the week, police stated they had served the American online personality known as the influencer, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (with no death or previous bodily harm), carrying a penalty of $562 and three demerit points each, connected to the bridge incident. They added that inquiries were continuing.

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

Creator's Response

The online figure spoke with a local publication recently after the incident gained traction on news sites and social media, saying he was sorry for giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.

"I accept the blame. That was one of the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he told the publication. "I’m coming here as a guest, and I intend to abide by the rules and standards of the city. So when I decided to do a meet and greet it did not involve a ride-out, it was just to say hi near the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, I am to blame we found ourselves on the bridge and I had two choices: whether the group completes the entirety of the bridge and comes back, which is a crime. Or we reverse, basically, before we’re on the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to turn around."

National Debate on E-Bike Regulation

The spate of e-bikes on roads nationwide has sparked increasing demands for stricter rules. A senior government official, the minister, recently said that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Young people have engaged in stupid things on bikes since the invention of the early bicycle [but] the injuries that are coming into our ERs are absolutely devastating," the minister said. "We’ve got to make sure we stop these things coming into the country [and] officers are given the authority to take strong action, to confiscate them, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

NSW recorded over two hundred injuries associated with electric bikes in 2024. But, in the first seven months of 2025, that number surged to 233 injuries plus four deaths.