American Social Media Personality Fined Following Mass E-Bike Gathering on Sydney Harbour Bridge
NSW authorities have issued a fine against an American social media personality and served two traffic infringement notices for alleged reckless operation after a swarm of electric bicycle users gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday.
The Event: An Illegal Gathering
A gathering of around 40 people operating electric bikes and motorbikes travelled along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The riders subsequently reversed direction and rode through the downtown area and Haymarket.
"There was a risk of people to be injured and killed," remarked a senior police official the officer on the following day.
Police said they did not immediately pursue the group due to safety concerns but rather found the group at a scenic Sydney lookout near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed.
Fines Imposed for Influencer
On Saturday, authorities announced they had served the American online personality known as the influencer, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (with no death or previous bodily harm), with a penalty of $562 and three demerit points each, connected to the bridge incident. They added that inquiries were continuing.
The personality reportedly has more than 3.4m followers on one platform and more than 1.2 million on the social media app.
Creator's Response
The online figure gave comments to a local publication this week following the event spread rapidly on news sites and social media, saying he was sorry for giving "bike life" a negative image.
"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was one of the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he told the publication. "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 group ride, it was just to greet people near the bridge."
"I’m unfamiliar with the city, it was my fault we found ourselves on the bridge and I had two choices: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and comes back, an illegal act. Or we turn around, essentially, before entering the bridge. I chose at the time to go back."
National Debate on Electric Bike Rules
The spate of e-bikes on roads nationwide has sparked growing calls for regulation. The federal health minister, Mark Butler, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."
"Young people have engaged in stupid things on bikes ever since the early bicycle [but] the harm that are presenting at our ERs are truly severe," he stated. "We’ve got to make sure we prevent these things entering the country [and] police are given the authority to take strong action, to take them away, to crush them, to destroy them."
The state recorded 226 injuries associated with electric bikes in the previous year. But, in the first seven months of 2025, that figure surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.
