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New South Wales police have issued a fine against an US-based online influencer and served two traffic infringement notices for alleged negligent driving following a swarm of electric bicycle users converged on the famous Sydney landmark during the busy commute on Tuesday.

The Incident: An Illegal Gathering

A group of around 40 individuals operating electric bikes and motorbikes proceeded along the bridge’s main deck, an area where bicycle riding is banned. The assembly then turned around and rode through the city’s CBD and a nearby district.

"This had a risk of serious injury or fatalities," remarked NSW police assistant commissioner the officer on Wednesday.

Police indicated they did not chase right away the riders out of concerns for public safety but instead located the group 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 known as the influencer, 26, with two violation tickets for careless operation (not involving death or prior injury), with a penalty of $562 and three demerit points each, in relation to the bridge ride-out. Officials noted that inquiries were continuing.

The personality is said to have more than 3.4m subscribers on one platform and more than 1.2 million on the social media app.

Influencer's Comments

The content creator gave comments to a major newspaper recently following the event spread rapidly on news sites and social media, saying he regretted giving "the biking community" a bad reputation.

"I accept the blame. It was one of the safest gatherings I have witnessed," he told the publication. "I’m coming here as a guest, so I’m going to come here respecting the rules and standards of Sydney. When I decided to do a public meeting it did not involve a ride-out, it was just to greet people under the bridge."

"I’m unfamiliar with the city, it was my fault we found ourselves on the bridge and I had two choices: 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 turn around."

Broader Context 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, recently said that illegal ebikes were a "total menace on the road."

"Kids have done stupid things on bikes since the invention of the penny-farthing [but] the injuries that are presenting at our ERs are absolutely devastating," he said. "We must ensure we stop these things entering 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 reported 226 injuries related to electric bikes in the previous year. But, in the initial half of the following year, that figure jumped to two hundred thirty-three injuries plus four deaths.