Commuting and recreation scooter with handlebar brake lever
I used to commute by kick-driven scooter. I rode about 3 miles a day, perhaps 700 miles in total (max 5% grade uphill; max 7.5% downhill). I feel reasonably qualified to discuss some of the implications.
My rides were two small folding Razor scooters, bought second-hand, at $10 each. They have the rear-friction brakes. One was in great shape. The other had some peeling handlebar foam but was otherwise fine.
Braking
You need to lean your weight way back. Folding scooters typically have wheels that are quite small, and even those that do not fold will still have much smaller wheels than a bicycle. If you don't lean backward, you are likely to pitch forward over the handlebars when slowing down.
Unless it is wet outside, the limiting factor of foot-brakes is not typically the braking force. It is how much torque you can put onto the rear of the scooter to avoid that nasty trip over the handlebars. Your braking efficacy is certainly diminished in wet weather, and you may need to reduce speed to compensate or ride the brake to slough off some of the water. Wet leaves are your worst case, and they stay wet much longer than pavement. Wet leaves will slide right over each other, giving you zero braking power and probably fishtailing your scooter.
The rear foot brake operates via friction. This means it has to convert all of the reduction in your forward-movement energy into sound and heat. That's a lot of heat. You can never use it barefoot because of burns, and I literally melted the sole of some shoes. This is probably an argument in favor of handbrakes. But recognize that the handbrake advantage is more about heat dissipation, and less about braking power where gains are mooted by front-tip-over torque.
After 500 miles on the first scooter, the aluminum panel of the rear brake wore through, and I combined the best parts of each scooter to continue riding. The wheel had worn down somewhat, but it outlasted the aluminum. Also, you can swap front and rear wheels for longevity.
Other considerations for scooters
Wheel size is a very important factor. The larger your wheels, the less you will notice bad surfaces. Any discontinuity in the pavement that is higher than half your wheel radius is one you must prepare and lean back for. Any discontinuity higher than your wheel radius is one you have to bunny hop. (Or until you can hop: step off for a pace, pop the scooter over the bump, and step back on. This is a motion you will perform a lot.)
Ultimately, I stopped using mine because of foot pain, primarily on the uphill sections. I tried different foot strokes, but those strokes just wore out my feet in different places. There might be advice you could get from longboard riders that would be helpful for this, but my &quot;scommuting&quot; days are over. I now have a folding bicycle.
I still have the remaining scooter and occasionally take it to the workplace when I want to grab lunch from a slightly farther distance, but it's no longer a regular part of my routine.