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NSW police have issued a fine against an US-based online influencer and handed out 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 Event: An Illegal Gathering

A group of around 40 individuals riding electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The assembly subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

"This had 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 group due to concerns for public safety but instead located the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the Botanic Gardens, at which point they broke up.

Fines Imposed for Content Creator

On Saturday, police announced they had served the US social media influencer known as Sur Ronster, 26, with two violation tickets for negligent driving (with no death or previous bodily harm), with a penalty of $562 and three demerit points each, connected to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

The personality is said to have more than 3.4 million subscribers on one platform and over 1.2m on Instagram.

Creator's Response

The content creator gave comments to a local publication recently following the event spread rapidly on news sites and social media, stating he regretted giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.

"I accept the blame. It was among the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he said. "I am a visitor here, and I intend to abide by the laws and norms of the city. When I decided to do a meet and greet it did not involve a ride-out, it was just to greet people near the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, it was my fault we ended up on the bridge and I had two choices: either the group completes the entirety of the bridge and comes back, which is a crime. Or we reverse, essentially, before entering 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 stricter rules. The federal health minister, the minister, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Kids have done stupid things on bikes ever since the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are coming into our hospital emergency departments are truly severe," the minister said. "We must ensure we prevent these things entering the country [and] officers are granted the powers to crack down, to take them away, to crush them, to destroy them."

NSW reported over two hundred injuries related to electric bikes in the previous year. But, in the initial half of the following year, that figure surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four fatalities.