Rider’s daring act caught on video
A man’s daring act in a busy tunnel under Sydney’s CBD has ended in disaster after he was filmed stacking on a rented e-bike.
The rider was spotted without a helmet on the Eastern Distributor by sisters Kobi Klyde and Amy Macintosh about 9.30pm on Saturday.
In the video uploaded to TikTok, the man is peddling through the tunnel when he veers towards the Bondi/Randwick exit.
One of the sisters calls out to the man “Whatcha doing brother?” before he collides with a raised lane divider.
The front tyre comes off the ground as the man falls onto his side with the bike on top of him and the helmet flying out.
The man remains on the ground as the sisters continue along the 6km tunnel connecting the CBD to the city’s eastern suburbs.
Ms Klyde, 26, told Nine papers the man was holding up traffic while he peddled down the tunnel’s southbound lanes.
“I was very shocked he was in the tunnel because I knew it was illegal,” she said.
A Transurban spokesperson said cyclists are prohibited from entering tunnels and confirmed they had been alerted to the incident.
“After locating the cyclist, we closed a lane and dispatched our Incident Response personnel to assist. The cyclist was able to exit the tunnel before our team arrived,” the spokesperson said.
“We have clear signage at the entrance our tunnels advising cyclists not to enter.”
Since January, 11 cyclists have accessed the Eastern Distributor tunnel, the majority of which are food delivery cyclists.
“Transurban engages with food delivery platforms to discuss riders accessing tunnels and our motorways, and we willingly support their efforts to educate riders,” the spokesperson said.
“We are watching our roads 24 hours a day, seven days a week and when we are aware a cyclist is in our tunnel, we dispatch our incident response teams to assist them.”
“Fines are a matter for NSW Police.”
Rented electric bikes and scooters are increasingly commonplace in many Australian capitals but have faced pushback.
Many claim the vehicles, which are usually rented through an app, result in accidents or drink-driving.
Under law, it is illegal for bikes to be ridden on Sydney’s motorways, including tunnels.
Nonetheless, there have been a number of incidents, including when a food delivery driver caused chaos in the WestConnex last year.
Transurban and Lime rental bikes have been contacted for comment.
