🔗 Share this article American Online Influencer Fined After Large-Scale E-Bike Ride on Iconic Australian Bridge NSW authorities have levied a penalty against an American social media personality and handed out two traffic infringement notices for alleged negligent driving after a large group of e-bike riders converged on the famous Sydney landmark during the busy commute on a weekday. The Incident: A Prohibited Ride A gathering of around 40 individuals operating electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The riders subsequently reversed direction and rode through the downtown area and a nearby district. "There was potential for serious injury or fatalities," stated a senior police official David Driver on the following day. Law enforcement indicated they did not immediately pursue the riders due to concerns for public safety but instead located the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the city gardens, at which point they broke up. Fines Imposed for Influencer Later in the week, authorities announced they had served the US social media influencer who goes by Sur Ronster, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), with a penalty of $562 and three demerit points each, connected to the bridge ride-out. They added that inquiries were continuing. The influencer is said to have over 3.4 million followers on one platform and over 1.2m on the social media app. Influencer's Comments The online figure spoke with a major newspaper this week following the event gained traction on digital platforms, stating he was sorry for giving "bike life" a bad reputation. "I’ll probably take responsibility. That was among the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he told the publication. "I am a visitor here, so I’m going to come here respecting the rules and standards of Sydney. So when I decided to do a public meeting it did not involve a ride-out, 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 two choices: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and turns around, which is a crime. 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 spate of e-bikes on roads nationwide has prompted growing calls for stricter rules. The federal health minister, the minister, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "total menace on the road." "Young people have engaged in reckless acts on bikes since the invention of the penny-farthing [but] the harm that are presenting at our ERs are truly severe," he stated. "We’ve got to make sure we stop these things entering the country [and] police are granted the authority to crack down, to confiscate them, to crush them, to dispose of them." The state reported 226 injuries related to ebikes in 2024. But, in the first seven months of the following year, that figure surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.