🔗 Share this article

NSW authorities have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and served two driving violation citations for alleged negligent driving after a large group of electric bicycle users gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday.

The Event: A Prohibited Ride

A group of approximately 40 people operating electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the bridge’s main deck, where cycling is prohibited. The riders subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the city’s CBD and a nearby district.

"There was a risk of people to be injured and killed," stated a senior police official David Driver on Wednesday.

Police indicated they did not immediately pursue the riders out of safety concerns but rather found the assembly at a scenic Sydney lookout near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed.

Fines Imposed for Content Creator

Later in the week, authorities announced they had served the US social media influencer who goes by Sur Ronster, 26, with two violation tickets for negligent driving (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a penalty of $562 and penalty points per notice, in relation to the bridge incident. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

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

Influencer's Comments

The online figure gave comments to a local publication recently following the event spread rapidly on digital platforms, saying he regretted giving "bike life" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. It was among the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he told the publication. "I’m coming here as a guest, and I intend to come here respecting 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 ended up 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. I chose at the time to turn around."

National Debate on E-Bike Regulation

The spate of electric bicycles on streets across the country has sparked increasing demands for stricter rules. A senior government official, Mark Butler, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "complete hazard 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 absolutely devastating," the minister said. "We must ensure we stop these things entering the country [and] officers are granted the authority to take strong action, to confiscate them, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

The state reported over two hundred injuries related to electric bikes in the previous year. However, in the first seven months of 2025, that figure surged to 233 injuries plus four fatalities.