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NSW police have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and handed out two driving violation citations for alleged reckless operation after a large group of electric bicycle users converged on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on a weekday.

The Event: An Illegal Gathering

A group of approximately 40 people riding electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, where cycling is prohibited. The assembly subsequently reversed direction and rode through the city’s CBD and a nearby district.

"There was potential for people to be injured and killed," remarked a senior police official the officer on Wednesday.

Police indicated they did not immediately pursue the riders out of concerns for public safety but rather found the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

Later in the week, authorities announced they had served the US social media influencer known as Sur Ronster, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a fine of $562 and penalty points each, in relation to the bridge ride-out. They added that inquiries were continuing.

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

Influencer's Comments

The online figure gave comments to a major newspaper recently after the incident spread rapidly on news sites and social media, saying he regretted giving "bike life" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was one of the safest gatherings I’ve ever seen," he said. "I’m coming here as a guest, and I intend to abide by the laws and norms of the city. So when I decided to do a public meeting it did not involve a ride-out, it was just to greet people near the bridge."

"I did not know the area well, 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 comes back, an illegal act. Or we reverse, essentially, 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 electric bicycles on streets across the country has sparked growing calls for regulation. A senior government official, the minister, commented that illegal ebikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Young people have engaged in stupid things on bikes since the invention of the penny-farthing [but] the harm that are coming into our hospital emergency departments are absolutely devastating," the minister stated. "We must make sure we stop these things entering the country [and] police are granted the powers to take strong action, to take them away, to destroy them, to dispose of them."

NSW recorded over two hundred injuries related to ebikes in the previous year. However, in the first seven months of the following year, that number surged to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.