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New South Wales police have issued a fine against an US-based online influencer and served two driving violation citations for reported reckless operation following a large group of electric bicycle users converged on the famous Sydney landmark during peak-hour traffic on Tuesday.

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A group of around 40 people operating e-bikes and motorcycles travelled along the primary roadway of the bridge, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The riders then turned around and rode through the city’s CBD and a nearby district.

"This had potential for serious injury or fatalities," stated NSW police assistant commissioner David Driver on Wednesday.

Law enforcement indicated they did not immediately pursue the riders out of concerns for public safety but instead located the group at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair near the city gardens, at which point they broke up.

Penalties Issued for Influencer

On Saturday, police announced they had issued the US social media influencer who goes by the influencer, twenty-six, with two traffic infringement notices for negligent driving (with no death or previous bodily harm), carrying a fine of over five hundred dollars and three demerit points per notice, in relation to the bridge incident. Officials noted that the investigation is ongoing.

The influencer reportedly has more than 3.4 million subscribers on one platform and over 1.2 million on Instagram.

Influencer's Comments

The online figure spoke with a major newspaper this week after the incident spread rapidly on digital platforms, stating he was sorry for giving "bike life" a negative image.

"I’ll probably take responsibility. That was one of the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he said. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going 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 ride-out, it was just to say hi under 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 completes the entirety of the bridge and comes back, an illegal act. Or we reverse, essentially, before entering the bridge. And I made the decision at the time to turn around."

Broader Context on E-Bike Regulation

The spate of electric bicycles on streets across the country has sparked increasing demands for regulation. The federal health minister, the minister, commented that non-compliant electric bikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Young people have engaged in reckless acts on bikes ever since the early bicycle [but] the harm that are presenting at our ERs are absolutely devastating," the minister said. "We must make sure we prevent these things coming into the country [and] officers are given the authority to take strong action, to take them away, to crush them, to dispose of them."

The state recorded 226 injuries associated with electric bikes in the previous year. But, in the first seven months of the following year, that figure jumped to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.