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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 negligent driving following a large group of e-bike riders gathered on the famous Sydney landmark during the busy commute on a weekday.

The Event: An Illegal Gathering

A group of approximately 40 individuals riding e-bikes and motorcycles travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, where cycling is prohibited. The assembly then turned around and traveled through the downtown area and Haymarket.

"There was potential for people to be injured and killed," stated NSW police assistant commissioner David Driver on Wednesday.

Police said they did not chase right away the group due to safety concerns but instead located the assembly at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the city gardens, where they dispersed.

Fines Imposed for Content Creator

Later in the week, police stated they had issued the US social media influencer who goes by the influencer, 26, with two violation tickets for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), carrying a fine of over five hundred dollars and penalty points each, connected to the bridge incident. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

The influencer is said to have more than 3.4 million subscribers on YouTube and more than 1.2 million on Instagram.

Influencer's Comments

The online figure gave comments to a major newspaper recently after the incident spread rapidly on digital platforms, saying he regretted giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.

"I accept the blame. That was among the safest ride-outs I’ve ever seen," he told the publication. "I am a visitor here, so I’m going to abide by the rules and standards of the city. When I decided to do a meet and greet it was not meant to include a group ride, 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 a decision to make: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and comes back, which is a crime. Or we reverse, basically, before we’re on the bridge. I chose at the time to go back."

Broader Context on E-Bike Regulation

The increase of e-bikes on roads nationwide has sparked growing calls for stricter rules. A senior government official, Mark Butler, recently said that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Kids have done reckless acts on bikes since the invention of the early bicycle [but] the harm that are coming into our ERs are truly severe," the minister said. "We must make sure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] police are granted the powers to crack down, to confiscate them, to destroy them, to destroy them."

The state reported 226 injuries related to ebikes in the previous year. However, in the first seven months of the following year, that number jumped to 233 injuries plus four deaths.