An American YouTuber who led a herd of e-bike riders over the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Tuesday afternoon during peak hour traffic has been fined by NSW police, who described the event as “incredibly irresponsible, stupid and downright dangerous”.
Four days after Los Angeles-based content creator Sur Ronster guided about 40 e-bike and motorcycle riders across the gridlocked bridge, police have caught up with the US citizen, issuing him with two traffic infringement notices, six demerit points and a $1124 fine.
The mass rideout continued for more than an hour on before officers dispersed the group at Mrs Macquaries Chair.
It is illegal to ride bikes and e-bikes on the main deck of the Harbour Bridge. Police are scraping CCTV and online footage to identify those involved in the ride, including the handful of youths riding without helmets and in school uniform.
Footage captured by Ronster and obtained by this masthead shows the riders, who initially converged under the Harbour Bridge for a meet-up planned by the influencer, following him through roads on the northern edge of the CBD, before the group reach the main deck of the Harbour Bridge.
“Oh, this is f—ed,” Ronster is heard saying to himself, as he realises the scale of danger and begins to instruct the group to perform the U-turn.
On Saturday, Sur Ronster told this masthead he would return to the US earlier than scheduled after receiving the fine, as he didn’t want to cause “any more unintentional trouble”. He had initially planned to travel to the Gold Coast this weekend, before leaving Australia via Sydney on Monday.
Ronster, who keeps his identity and appearance secret to safeguard against issues posed by his motorcycle stunts, previously told this masthead that he had no intention of leading the group through the city on Tuesday afternoon, saying fans followed him home after the planned meet-up.
“I do regret waking up and seeing how it was shown on a lot of the news sources. I felt like I failed and made bike life have a bad reputation, and as a guest in a new city, that’s the opposite of my goal,” he said.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner David Driver he was “struggling to find the adjective that outlines how stupid and irresponsible this behaviour is.”
He urged parents of participants to “have a strong conversation with their children”, and warned there were fines exceeding $460 for riding a bike over the bridge, but no amount of money could bring people back to life.
“We don’t want to be knocking on your door and telling you your child has been killed in one of these stupid rideouts,” Driver said.
The NSW government faces increased scrutiny about the proliferation of high-powered e-bikes across Sydney streets, including other mass rideouts taking over public roads and facilities.
Tougher measures to remove illegal e-bikes from the road are expected to be announced within days, according to a government source familiar with the nature of discussions.
Premier Chris Minns conceded the state is failing to protect road users from the dangers posed by e-bikes, after declaring the status quo “intolerable and dangerous for a lot of people”.
“We have to make some changes,” Minns told Sydney radio on Friday. “We can get the mix right, to make sure a young person actually has fun when they’re young and doesn’t end up in a wheelchair or getting killed as a result.
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