The company that operated the state’s E-ZPass system for 22 years before being ousted last month when the contract was awarded to a competitor has filed a protest, questioning why a company with a bid of $250 million more was selected.

Conduent, Inc. of Newark has formally challenged the New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s Sept. 27 vote to award the 11-year contract to operate E-ZPass customer service to Transcore, which offered $1.73 billion. The protest was filed on October 1. Customer service serves seven toll agencies.

State procurement law requires government agencies to award contracts to the lowest responsible bidder. If a contract is awarded to a company that had a higher price than the lowest bidder, the agency must provide specific reasons for that decision.