{"id":458008,"date":"2026-02-04T14:45:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T14:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/458008\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T14:45:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T14:45:11","slug":"nrma-calls-to-get-these-kids-off-our-roads-as-police-investigate-ebike-swarm-on-sydney-harbour-bridge-sydney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/458008\/","title":{"rendered":"NRMA calls to \u2018get these kids off our roads\u2019 as police investigate ebike swarm on Sydney Harbour Bridge | Sydney"},"content":{"rendered":"

A swarm of ebike and motorcycle riders who crossed the Sydney<\/a> Harbour Bridge in peak-hour traffic has led to a police investigation and calls from a major insurer to \u201cget these kids off our roads\u201d.<\/p>\n

New South Wales police have confirmed they are investigating about 40 people who travelled along the bridge\u2019s main deck \u2013 where cycling is prohibited \u2013 before turning around and riding through the CBD and Haymarket on Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Vision posted online also shows riders \u2013 including those on so-called fat bikes<\/a> \u2013 travelling south on the Western Distributor, and performing stunts on the roads.<\/p>\n

No arrests or charges have been laid by police, but assistant commissioner David Driver said investigations continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis had potential for people to be injured and killed,\u201d he said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Driver said police were working to identify a number of people who might face charges, and have been tracing participants through school uniforms and details of registered bikes.<\/p>\n

He urged parents of those involved to have a \u201cstrong conversation with their children\u201d regarding road safety.<\/p>\n

The insurer NRMA on Wednesday called for a crackdown on illegal ebike and escooter use and claimed that NSW faced a burgeoning \u201croad safety disaster\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/a><\/p>\n

An NRMA spokesperson, Peter Khoury, urged the government to implement a formal registration scheme, but he said an \u201call of community approach\u201d was required.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to find a way to get these kids off these bikes, and absolutely get these kids off our roads,\u201d he said. \u201cParents have got to stop buying kids these bikes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khoury added that police and council rangers should be granted the authority to confiscate bikes used illegally or by underage riders.<\/p>\n

According to police, officers were called to Hickson Road at approximately 4.30pm on Tuesday after reports of a group riding in a \u201cdangerous manner\u201d.<\/p>\n

While no pursuit was initiated, officers tracked the riders to Mrs Macquarie\u2019s Chair, near the botanic gardens, where the group dispersed, police said.<\/p>\n

The Guardian has viewed social media footage of an American motorcycle content creator, Sur Ronster, having an impromptu fan meet-up under the Sydney Harbour Bridge at 4pm on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The video shows a crowd of people running to surround the influencer as he dismounted from his bike \u2013 jumping up and down with the group \u2013 to take selfies and even sign the arm sling of a bruised-up fan.<\/p>\n

There has been no allegation of wrongdoing by Ronster.<\/p>\n

Premier says \u2018we\u2019re working on changes\u2019<\/p>\n

The NSW government has faced scrutiny about their response to the increase in ebikes and motorcycles on the road in recent months.<\/p>\n

Last month, an estimated 60 young ebike riders rolled over the green of a north Sydney golf course<\/a>, reflecting a broader trend of people meeting up for mass \u201crideouts\u201d.<\/p>\n

The NSW premier, Chris Minns, on Wednesday acknowledged the incident on Sydney Harbour Bridge and said \u201cwe\u2019re working on changes, we\u2019ll have more to say soon\u201d.<\/p>\n

He claimed part of the issue was caused by when the then Coalition government lifted the maximum legal power for ebikes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s regrettable that the original decision was made to have a 500-watt output rather than a 250-watt output,\u201d Minns said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re now in a situation where we\u2019re trying to close the barn door, after close to a million of these machines are [already] on Sydney streets.\u201d<\/p>\n

The opposition\u2019s shadow transport minister, Natalie Ward, said \u201cthe anarchy on the people\u2019s bridge was an inevitable consequence of a government that has refused to act and ignored warnings\u201d.<\/p>\n

She said the opposition has \u201cput forward a clear, practical policy to introduce identification plates for young riders and commercial e-bike operators to actually enforce rules, change behaviour and prevent crashes\u201d.<\/p>\n

The NSW government established a 2024 inquiry into the use of escooters, ebikes and related mobility options, which lead to various recommendations<\/a>, including the safety standards to reduce lithium-ion battery fires, a rider education campaign and investment in critical infrastructure and improving future design of shared paths.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A swarm of ebike and motorcycle riders who crossed the Sydney Harbour Bridge in peak-hour traffic has led…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":458009,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-458008","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=458008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/458009"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=458008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=458008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=458008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}