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NSW authorities have levied a penalty against an US-based online influencer and handed out two traffic infringement notices for alleged negligent driving following a swarm of electric bicycle users gathered on the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the busy commute on Tuesday.

The Incident: A Prohibited Ride

A group of around 40 people riding e-bikes and motorcycles proceeded along the primary roadway of the bridge, where cycling is prohibited. The assembly subsequently reversed direction and traveled through the city’s CBD and Haymarket.

"There was potential for serious injury or fatalities," remarked a senior police official the officer on the following day.

Law enforcement said they did not chase right away the group out of concerns for public safety but instead located the assembly at a scenic Sydney lookout near the Botanic Gardens, where they dispersed.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

On Saturday, authorities stated they had served the US social media influencer known as the influencer, 26, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (with no death or previous bodily harm), with a penalty of over five hundred dollars and penalty points each, in relation to the bridge incident. They added that inquiries were continuing.

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

Creator's Response

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

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was among the safest ride-outs I have witnessed," he said. "I’m coming here as a guest, and I intend to come here respecting the rules and standards of Sydney. So 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 ended up on the bridge and I had a decision to make: whether the group rides the full length of the bridge and turns around, an illegal act. Or we turn around, essentially, before we’re on the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to turn around."

Broader Context on Electric Bike Rules

The increase of e-bikes on streets across the country has prompted increasing demands for regulation. A senior government official, Mark Butler, recently said 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 harm that are coming into our ERs are truly severe," the minister said. "We must ensure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] police are given the authority to take strong action, to take them away, to crush them, to dispose of them."

The state reported 226 injuries related to electric bikes in the previous year. But, in the first seven months of the following year, that figure jumped to 233 injuries plus four fatalities.